WASHINGTON, D.C.
Traveling for meetings and conferences is vital to making government more efficient and effective, according to a new study conducted by Rockport Analytics for the U.S. Travel Association. In contrast, cancelling government participation in key events carries significant costs and undermines important functions of government.
The Value of Government Meetings report, a comprehensive study of the benefits of government meetings and events, is the first to evaluate the impact of sweeping cuts made to federal and state government travel budgets on the public and private sectors.
The report highlights the significant impact of the cancellation of the 2013 Military Health System Conference, an annual training event for several thousand military medical personnel. The study found that due to replacement costs and lost revenue, the event's cancellation will ultimately cost the government more than $800,000.
Similarly, the decision made by NASA to pull out of the April 2013 National Space Symposium – the world's premier international space exploration and policy event –- had its own negative consequences.
The full report can be found at the USTA’s website at www.ustravel.org.
