Numbers up at ASAE annual meeting

It could be a sign of brighter skies ahead. After the final tally, the number of attendees for ASAE’s 2010 Annual Meeting rang in at 5,522, an increase of 700 association professionals and 100 exhibitors compared to last year. “We believe the positive growth is a good sign that associations and the entire nonprofit community are slowly rebounding from the down economy,” said ASAE President and CEO John H. Graham IV, CAE. ”This doesn’t mean the tough times are behind us, but it’s a promising indicator that we’re trending in the right direction.”

News of an increase in ASAE attendance numbers follows a few other promising meetings reports from earlier in the summer. The U.S. Travel Association, which recently launched a few initiatives in an effort to boost tourism, predicts a seven percent increase in meetings and convention spending by the end of 2010 after 2009′s 15 percent decline. In June, Meeting Professionals International conducted a survey that indicated that two-thirds of the meeting planners who responded said they’re experiencing a healthier market this year, with higher attendance numbers, slightly bigger budgets and an increase in the number of meetings. Hotels are also seeing increased group and meetings business, as recently reported by Connect.