Groups Booked At Center Since New Customer Satisfaction Agreement Will Bring $91 Million to Philadelphia 

Philadelphia, PA…September 2, 2014 – The Philadelphia Convention Center & Visitors Bureau (PHLCVB) announced today that the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) has selected the Pennsylvania Convention Center as the location for its 2019 annual conference.  APIC is the fourth citywide convention to book at the Pennsylvania Convention Center since the adoption of a new agreement with labor was reached in May that greatly modernized work rules and expanded customer rights.

APIC, which is the leading professional association for infection preventionists with more than 15,000 members, will hold its annual conference in Philadelphia for the first time in 2019. The conference convenes nearly 5,000 attendees from around the world for three days to advance their network and learn about evidence-based advances in infection prevention. More than 200 exhibitors are also expected. According to the PHLCVB, the primary sales and marketing arm for the Center, APIC 2019 attendees are expected to use over 9,200 total hotel room nights and produce more than $14.3 million in economic impact for Philadelphia.

Since the implementation of the Customer Satisfaction Agreement (CSA) -- signed by four trade unions and ratified by the Center's Board of Directors on May 6 -- four groups generating a projected regional economic impact of more than $91 million have booked with the center. Joining APIC in selecting Philadelphia are the American Association for Cancer Research ($41 million in economic impact), the National Association of Black MBA's ($19.5 million in economic impact), and the American Industrial Hygiene Association ($16.2 million in economic impact).

“Philadelphia has always been a great destination and now that SMG has worked out some of the past challenges with the new CSA we are looking forward to treating our conference attendees and exhibitors to all the wonderful experiences that it has to offer,” said Sara Haywood, associate director for Education and Events at APIC.

Concerns about labor costs had discouraged the group from considering Philadelphia in the past, but the organization was reassured by the approval of the new CSA and recent experiences of other organizations that have hosted events at the center under the new work rules. The new labor agreement at the Center has addressed a range of customer concerns by providing exhibitors with greater flexibility and independence, in addition to a customer-service oriented labor workforce.

"The word is definitely getting out that it's a new day in Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Customers are seeing first-hand that we are capable of delivering an exceptional experience for planners, exhibitors and attendees,” said PHLCVB Executive Vice President Julie Coker. “APIC has been on our radar for a long time and after hearing a presentation from the PHLCVB, SMG and the Center in early May, we received their commitment to come to Philadelphia in 2019.”

“It is great to see that our customers are embracing recent changes that have made the Center more competitive with peer facilities across the country,” said Gregory J. Fox, Jr., chairman of the PCC Authority. “The Center's recent successes in booking new events like APIC underscore why the new agreement was necessary. The changes we made are having the intended, positive result of bringing new conferences to the Center to showcase our city and region and generate significant economic impact for local businesses and their employees.”

“APIC and the three other organizations booking Philadelphia is a great testament for both the Center and especially the four stakeholder unions who collectively work in harmony to service customers,” said Lorenz Hassenstein, General Manager for SMG at the PCC. “A great deal of effort and sacrifice has been invested by the entire hospitality industry here in Philadelphia and we are happy to be rewarded with such an opportunity.”

APIC's mission is to create a safer world through the prevention of infection. APIC's 2014 Annual Conference was held in Anaheim, California.

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Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau (PHLCVB), www.discoverPHL.com, a private non-profit membership corporation, is the official Tourism Promotion Agency for the City of Philadelphia globally, and the primary sales and marketing agency for the expanded Pennsylvania Convention Center. The PHLCVB competes with its counterparts worldwide for convention and tourism business. The organization has departments dedicated to the multicultural, sports, and life sciences markets. The PHLCVB incorporates the short code PHL, an open source graphic identifier for the City of Philadelphia into the Convention & Visitors Bureau brand identity. The graphic identifier and other assets for use by public, private and non-profit organizations can be found at www.PHLpartners.com.

Media Contact:
Khaila Edward
202.203.8279
khaila@discoverphl.com

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