Meetings are back on the road to recovery, according to a recent forecast from the U.S. Travel Association.
The USTA is predicting a 7 percent increase in meeting and convention spending in 2010, which would amount to nearly $91 billion. This follows a 15 percent decline last year.
Industry consultancies such as Smith Travel Research have also noted an upswing, with the most recent report from the Hendersonville, Tenn.-based company revising its 2010 hotel industry forecast.
The new forecast predicts that RevPAR will increase 4.3 percent for the year, compared to the 3 percent increase it forecast in June. The research firm also revised its occupancy forecast to predict a 4.4 percent increase year over year to 57.1 percent, which is nearly a point better than the 3.6 percent increase forecasted in its June report.
