At a recent
Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau (ACVB) Report to the Community, the organization's president and CEO Julie Saupe said 2010 was "challenging" but good, and that 2011 held promise.
She previously worked for the
Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau communications department.
The
Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau does not expect this to be a record year in convention sales, Julie Dodds, director of convention sales for ACVB says, though the summer numbers indicate that "we are holding our own." The bureau's annual goal for total convention sales this year is $95 million and by June it had already reached 60 percent of this goal.
The economic impact of conventions held in Anchorage in 2008 was nearly $97.3 million, according to the
Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The relationship between the Anchorage Convention Centers,
Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau (ACVB), and SMG of Alaska works like this: "The Anchorage Convention Centers are owned by the Municipality of Anchorage; ACVB is the contract administrator; and we, SMG of Alaska, do the facility management.
Although she didn't know it at the time, biking to her high school summer job every day helped Julie Saupe, the newest president of the
Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau (ACVB), get to where she is today.
"Anchorage is their most popular add-on trip," says Nance Larsen, vice president of the
Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau communications and marketing program.
The Municipality,
Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau and Anchorage Economic Development Corp.
"The
Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates that each convention attendee spends $974 while here and many come back for second visits and send their friends and families as well," Begich explained.