Economic impact of NDTA Forum on Anchorage, Alaska.

If there was ever any doubt about the importance and economic impact of an NDTA Forum, the recent one in Anchorage, Alaska, should set the record straight.

Attendees were asked to participate in a special survey conducted by A-35 member Susan Krulic who chose the project for her senior thesis at Alaska Pacific University (APU). Her goal was to accurately assess the monetary impact of the NDTA Annual Forum on the economy of Alaska. She considered not only the money spent by the association to actually produce the conference, but also the money spent by attendees on souvenirs, outside tourist attractions, meals, transportation, and pre- and post-forum trips and sightseeing. If you include pre-forum expenses such as air transportation, registration, advance printing, promotional expenses, etc., the overall impact totals a whopping $2.1 ($2.6) million dollars! Here are some of Ms. Krulic's findings:

* The average Alaska NDTA attendee stayed in Alaska five and a half days and spent $1245 ($1544) during that time. That is above the national average expenditure for a five-day convention when you consider that NDTA includes so many meals in its basic registration fee.

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* The average NDTA exhibitor costs are less than half the national average--$1534 ($1902) versus $3433 ($4257), even when considering the higher cost of shipping to and from Anchorage.

* The International Association of Conventions and Visitor's Bureaus (IACVB) calculates that the typical national association spends $230,181 ($285,424) in its host city over a five-day convention. NDTA brought $418,514 ($518,957) into the Alaskan economy during its Forum in Anchorage--nearly twice the national average!

* Sixteen percent of us paid under $500 ($620) for our round trip air fare, while 21 percent payed between $501 ($621)-$700 ($868), and 22 percent payed from $701 ($869)-$900 ($1116). Six percent payed over $1500 ($1860), and a few folks (obviously the very rich, or the bargaining impaired) said they shelled out more than $3000 ($3720) for the round trip! Sixteen percent said they used their frequent flyer miles.

* Finally, a whopping 99 percent of those surveyed said that Alaska and the forum (after the first three days) had met or exceeded their expectations! Editors note: probably the remaining one percent were disgruntled because they hadn't seen a moose!

Ms. Krulic's survey was distributed at the Scholarship Breakfast sponsored by Bank of America. Ms. Barbara Jaworski introduced the A-35, APU senior and encouraged the audience to participate. 353 returned the brief questionnaire (nearly 30 percent of the forum attendees).

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COL Denny Edwards, USA (Ret.)

NDTA held its Annual Forum in Anchorage, Alaska, in 1999, and for the first time a city-wide economic impact analysis of the Forum was done by the Alaska Pacific University. As NDTA members, we all know the value of our association and its work, but this analysis showed just how much economic clout the association brings to the host city. The information and dollar amount below appeared in the December 1999 DTJ, and the figures in parentheses represent today's inflation adjusted figures.

condensed and edited by Denny Edwards, DTJ Managing Editor