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The Joint Meetings Industry Council (JMIC) announced the winner of the 2009 JMIC Profile and Power Award as the MPI Canada Foundation. The award was made in recognition of their work in developing and promoting a study that calculated the value of the meetings industry in Canada based on a major research project carried out by Maritz Research Canada and the Conference Board of Canada.
"The ability to accurately and defensibly measure the economic benefits we generate as an industry is a fundamental element in the arguments we need to be able to make to government and the community" said JMIC President Leigh Harry. "By investing in and driving a project of this magnitude and credibility, The MPI Foundation Canada, along with its partners Maritz Research Canada and the Conference Board of Canada, not only advanced the profile of the Canadian industry and the benefits it generates but also developed a tool and a template that can be used by industry partners in many other parts of the world".
The study was the first to use the UNWTO Meetings Extension methodology, and provided data on the economic contribution of the industry, the number of jobs that it supports, the spend per meeting category and the tax returns generated for government. Results of the study indicated that Canada’s meetings sector organized 671,000 meetings in 2006, welcomed 70.2 million participants, created the equivalent of 235,500 full-year jobs, and accounted for $32.2 billion in direct spending (including $23.3 billion by meeting participants and $8.9 billion by non-participant sponsors and stakeholders).
The results were widely circulated to industry professionals, government officials and the media in order to bolster the image of the industry as a major factor in the Canadian economy. They have also been featured in numerous presentations and promoted through industry web sites.
The JMIC Power and Profile Award was established by the Council as a way of recognizing individuals and organizations who have made significant contributions to advancing the awareness and influence of the Meetings Industry in their respective communities. The winner is selected each year based on criteria which evaluate the efforts of an individual or organization in increasing industry profile and bringing about structural or policy changes that reflect that better appreciation.
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