Indy Tourism Celebrates Record-Breaking Year

2014 was a record-breaker for Indianapolis tourism. Visit Indy booked 880,552 convention hotel room-nights for future dates, the most since the organization’s founding in 1923. 

The 2014 convention sales results significantly exceeded Visit Indy’s goal of 750,000 hotel room-nights for future dates (117.4%). The previous record was set in 2002 with 814,520 future convention hotel room-nights booked.

 “2014 was a phenomenal year for Visit Indy, the City of Indianapolis, and Central Indiana's tourism industry,” said Leonard Hoops, president & CEO of Visit Indy. “Thanks to a decades-long vision and the continued support of community leaders, Indy's tourism industry is producing more jobs and tax revenue than even the most optimistic forecasts could have predicted.  I'm particularly thankful to everyone at the Indiana Convention Center and our hotel community for consistently delivering on Indy's promise of "super service" and Hoosier Hospitality."

Hoops cited Indy's recognition last March as USA Today’s #1 Convention City in the U.S., as well as its inclusion on the New York Times "52 Places to Go" list, as major boosts to the city's visitor appeal in 2014.

In addition to the convention sales results, Visit Indy also set records for summer weekend leisure hotel room-nights (296,521) and VisitIndy.com website visits (2.41 million).

Hoops noted that Visit Indy is working closely with its civic and business partners to ensure 2014 does not remain the best year for Indianapolis tourism.

“We must continue striving to make Indy a must-visit destination or risk losing our hard-earned market share and visitor dollars to other cities,” he said.

The mission of Visit Indy is to increase Indianapolis economic growth by strategically selling the destination to conventions, meetings, events, and leisure travelers. According to Rockport Analytics, 26 million visitors provide $4.4 billion in total economic impact annually, produce $1.1 billion in tax receipts, and generate 75,000 full-time equivalent jobs in Central Indiana.  For more information, www.VisitIndy.com.