March "medical madness" brings top dollars to Atlanta

By Leon Stafford

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Health care spending might be the subject of continuing rancor in Washington, but Atlanta's hospitality community in recent weeks has had one word for it: ka-ching!

Beginning Thursday, the city will host its third consecutive medical convention this month when Hinman Dental Society opens its annual meeting at the Georgia World Congress Center.

For the metro area's $11 billion hospitality community, Hinman and earlier March conventions for the American College of Cardiology and HIMMS [Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society] have been big business: The economic impact is pegged at $84.4 million, with 73,000 people expected to attend the three meetings.

A crowd of 26,000 will descend on the Hinman convention. These people will see the latest in dental technology, learn new techniques and procedures, and take certification courses to further their work.

Medical conventions are among the most sought after segments in the meetings market, said William Pate, president of the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau. Unlike other groups on a budget, the medical community spends money on top restaurants, swank hotel rooms and expensive gifts purchased at Phipps Plaza.

"Health care is an industry that holds up well regardless of the economic environment," said Pate, stopping short of calling the medical community recession-proof.

To entice these conventions to return, hospitality leaders have made sure the city was welcoming, said Pattise Rand, GWCC director of sales and marketing. Banners were hung in the city, cab drivers were instructed to offer hearty greetings and greeters helped visitors navigate Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

A lot rides on this success. If the visitors leave Atlanta with a good impression, they'll tell others and help the city build a strong medical meetings business, hospitality officials said. This is critical because Atlanta is bidding for the ACC convention again for 2014.

"They are the cream of the crop, if you will," said Rand of the medical convention market.