Charlotte, North Carolina’s nickname is Queen City, and after wrapping a wildly successful 2024, it’s not a reach to stay the destination has risen as a true leader in the meetings space.
“We’re proud to say 2024 was the best year we’ve ever had,” said Ned Blair, director of sales for Visit Charlotte. “To that point, our sales team processed over 2.8 million lead room nights. As a destination, we are over 100% of our booking pace through 2029, and the demand continues to grow.”
Charlotte is gaining prominence quickly. It’s the and one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S. Blair said 110 new people move to Charlotte each day. What residents find compelling is also what makes Charlotte a draw for visitors.
“Charlotte isn’t known for just one thing, which is what makes our city so special,” Blair said. “When guests are here, they find much to explore—distinctive neighborhoods, a vibrant arts and culture scene, award-winning cuisine and a natural beauty that invites you outside.”
This, plus a newly expanded convention center and ongoing developments keep the city poised for success in the events sector. In 2024, major wins were seen across various industries and segments, including the hosting of The ACC Football Championship, Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals HITEC Conference, National Propane Gas Association Southeastern Convention & International Propane Exposition and the Best Western Hotels Annual Convention.
“We also hosted the United Methodist General Conference, which provided a unique opportunity as their 2020 conference was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, they came to Charlotte for two weeks in spring 2024 and utilized the entire convention center, as they had not met in eight years,” Blair added.
And the outlook continues to shine brightly. Here’s why Queen City is rising in the ranks for meeting planners.
Charlotte Convention Center Expansion Bears Fruit
Charlotte’s record-breaking 2024 success can largely be attributed to the $126.9 million Charlotte Convention Center expansion project that wrapped in 2021, adding 50,000 square feet of meeting room and prefunction space and taking the venue’s total space to 600,000 square feet. The project also added an exterior pedestrian walkaway connecting the adjacent 700-room Westin Charlotte to the building and a LYNX Blue Line light rail stop to give attendees easier access to the city’s hundreds of restaurants, thousands of hotel rooms and more entertainment.
“Since the convention center expansion in 2021, Charlotte has secured 29 meetings that would not have considered the city before we added the 50,000 additional square feet of meeting room and prefunction space,” Blair said.
One such meeting was Best Western Hotels’ Annual Convention, which came to the Charlotte Convention Center in October 2024. Todd Thrall, senior director of meetings and events for BWH Hotels, said it had been 20 years since the organization met in Charlotte, and the convention center expansion helped lure them back.
“A lot has changed in Charlotte over the last 20 years, and we had been looking for the opportunity to return for a while,” Thrall said. “The expansion of the convention center, the development of new hotels, the addition of the NASCAR Hall of Fame and the emergence of a strong uptown residential component all contributed to our desire to return.”
BWH Hotels’ event brought nearly 3,000 attendees to Charlotte, utilizing the convention center for its meetings and the NASCAR Hall of Fame—which is connected to the convention center—for a party.
One element that particularly impressed Thrall was that some of the individuals BWH Hotels had worked with 20 years ago were still with the convention center.
“The Charlotte Convention Center was a great venue to work with—the unique layout of the facility, the flexibility and collaborative spirit of the Charlotte Convention Center’s sales, operations and catering teams. We worked with some of the same people that we had worked with 20 years ago—unheard of in this industry,” Thrall said. “We received some great suggestions and advice from our partners at the center that helped us maximize the effectiveness of the venue and the labor force there.
“NASCAR Hall of Fame provided convenient access to a world-class facility for our reception,” he added. “The connectivity to the convention center provides a great overflow capability, and using the Charlotte Convention Center catering team gave us continuity as well as peace of mind for quality and service.”
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More Competitive Advantages in Charlotte
Another major advantage of Charlotte is its accessibility to destinations all over the country and globe. The BWH Hotels event attendee list included more than 1,800 hoteliers, exhibitors representing more than 300 companies and corporate staff and sponsors. Overall, attendees from more than 20 countries participated in the event. Therefore, airlift was key in the event’s selection of Charlotte as its host, too.
“Accessibility was a big factor—with CLT [Charlotte Douglas International Airport] being an American Airlines hub, and its geographic location enabling a large drive-in component for our audience,” Thrall said.
CLT is located just seven miles from Center City Charlotte, where the convention center is located. According to CLT, the Airports Council International ranked CLT as the seventh-busiest airport worldwide for the number of arrivals and departures. The airport is ninth in North America for passengers and globally, its passenger traffic ranks 22nd. The airport offers nonstop service to 188 destinations around the globe.
Blair confirmed that the airport gives Charlotte a big edge. Plus, Charlotte’s compact design and walkability features often tip the scales for meeting planners.
“The city’s compact, walkable cityscape, accessibility and convenience of Charlotte Douglas International Airport, climate, affordability and the city’s safety are all distinct competitive advantages that influence meeting planners to choose Charlotte,” Blair said.
[Related: Why Meeting Planners Love Coastal Carolinas Destinations]
What's on the Horizon for Meetings in Charlotte
Capitalizing on its 2024 success, Charlotte isn’t slowing down in 2025.
“Charlotte is no longer the industry’s best-kept secret,” Blair asserted. “Southeastern cities are popular meeting destinations, and we are one of the hottest.
“We started 2025 strong with two back-to-back citywide meetings—American Football Coaches Association and Universal Spirit’s Spirit of Hope Grand Nationals—in January. This year we will host the PGA Championship, NAACP National Convention and the Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medical Association Annual Conference,” he added.
Looking ahead, Charlotte is also set to welcome the American Society of Association Executives’ (ASAE) Annual Meeting & Exposition in 2027.
New developments are underway to continue improving the meeting experience. Some highlights include:
- Charlotte Douglas International Airport continues its ongoing expansion and enhancements to accommodate the surge of travelers who come through the airport daily.
- The Moxy Hotel will open this year in the heart of Uptown, one block from Spectrum Center and three blocks from Charlotte Convention Center.
- The historic Carolina Theatre is newly restored and will also open this year to serve as a civic and entertainment venue in Uptown.
- The Pearl, a new innovation district, is under construction. The mixed-use development will offer office, lab, retail, residential, community and academic spaces, including the Wake Forest University School of Medicine Charlotte. The 600,000-square-foot medical school will open in 2025. “The Pearl will be catalyst for healthcare research, technology and business growth in Charlotte,” Blair said.
