MeetingSource Names Top 25 Convention Cities in the USA for 2018
January 26, 2018
The Home Course in DuPont, Washington with Mount Rainier. Credit: Travel Tacoma and Pierce County
Our Picks for Best Large Convention Cities in the USA
Large: Las Vegas, Miami, San Francisco, Phoenix, Denver, New York City, San Antonio, Orlando, Dallas and Boston.
Medium: Charlotte, Austin, Providence, Norfolk, Cincinnati, St. Paul and Salt Lake City.
Small: Tacoma, Silicon Valley, Chattanooga, El Paso, Madison, Tempe, Portland, Maine and Raleigh.
Using a six point rating system, we ranked 163 convention cities across the United States by: affordability of hotel rooms; ease of access; safety, walkability, promotional appeal and weather to uncover our top 25 picks.
Las Vegas easily claimed the top spot for the second year in a row, as weather was a new measured destination attribute for 2018, and the City of Lights boasts plenty of natural sunshine. Other sunny destinations on the list this year for larger conventions include Denver, Orlando and Dallas.
Chattanooga, Raleigh, El Paso and tiny Tempe, AZ joined Tacoma and Portland, ME as top cities for smaller conventions for the same reason. Sunshine too helped Charlotte and Austin rise further up in our rankings to become the number one and two second-tier convention cities, respectively, pushing down one of our site selection favorites for mid-sized conventions last year, Cincinnati.