"There’s a lot more people starting to wander around the streets, the blue bag brigade yes," jokes Sally Gill, visitor from Australia.
The blue bag brigade is the 10,000 attendees for the American Psychiatric Associations annual meeting.
"It’s 10,000 people visiting us from 76 countries from all over the world and spending $46-Million in Hawaii," says Mike McCartney, Hawaii Tourism Authority.
One of the Convention Center’s largest meetings of the year, second only to APEC in November.
"Meetings and conventions business means a lot to Hawaii," says McCartney. "In the first quarter the meeting & conventions business for Hawaii has been up 63%."
That equates to nearly 30-million in additional dollars to the state.
Sally Gill and her husband Tony are in town for the first time from down under. They arrived a few days early to sight see and shop.
"Probably in Australian dollars, a couple hundred Australian dollars a day, so that’s what we budgeted - perhaps a little more depending on once we get to the souvenir shops," says Gill.
Nesemio Gutierrez and Ramon Javier are also first timers to Hawaii.
"Hope I can convince my friends to experience the luau," says Gutierrez.
The APA meeting translates into millions of dollars in state revenue, and over 80,000 hotel room nights. It’s just one of several back to back conventions that the state is banking on.
"Hope it helps to re-position Hawaii as a place to hold meetings, not just a leisure destination but a place where the world can come and have first class meetings," says McCartney.
The American Psychiatric Association conference begins tomorrow.
Their annual meeting was last held in Honolulu in 1973.
See the original article at: KHON2 Local News
