What makes your city a top meeting/convention destination?
Atlanta is a meeting planner's dream that boasts more than 2.5 million square feet of exhibit space. The city can easily accommodate groups of any size and is home to several top convention facilities. The Georgia World Congress Center is the fourth-largest convention center in the United States and features 1.4 million square feet of prime exhibit space, 105 meeting rooms, and two grand ballrooms. Other great meeting venues include the 400,000-square-foot Georgia International Convention Center and Americasmart, the largest wholesale marketplace.

In addition to amazing convention amenities, the city's convention corridor is surrounded by rich heritage and historic attractions. The Sweet Auburn District, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Historic Site, Castleberry Hill, Underground Atlanta, and the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum all showcase the city's past.

Atlanta also has plans for the future and is positioned to become a premier civil rights destination. Historic writings and the permanent pages of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. have returned to the city to be displayed in the future Center for Civil and Human Rights, set to open in 2010. The new attraction will be located on the edge of Centennial Olympic Park, next to the Georgia Aquarium and New World of Coca-Cola.
Tell us about a meeting you're thrilled to have just signed on or a recent meeting you're very pleased with.
Atlanta was very excited to host the National Business Aviation Association's (NBAA) 60th Annual Meeting. The event honored NBAA's anniversary and marked the centennial of powered flight in Georgia. The entire destination came together to celebrate both monumental accomplishments and held several meetings with NBAA staff prior to the conference. In addition to continuous and ongoing communication, Atlanta created a public relations program that included pitching stories, monitoring NBAA media activity, and hosting trade journalists. The event was a huge success, attracting more than 32,000 attendees and propelling the convention to eighth in the rankings of U.S. trade shows.
How do you see the role of the bureau changing in the future?
Convention bureaus must be able to adapt to trends that impact business. More than ever, meeting planners are requesting value, a unique experience, and assistance with generating attendance.

To address these concerns, the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau (ACVB) works with the hospitality community to deliver customized solutions. ACVB also prides itself on studying the city's future development and helps meeting planners visualize what Atlanta will have to offer two, five, or 10 years from now. Other noteworthy trends sweeping the industry include the implementation of social media programs (blogging, podcasting, etc.), and ACVB has added a portal on our Web site to allow everyone to interact with the destination.