Posted Dec 15, 2016, 6:26 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Chicago, IL —-Austin, TX
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Houston to host World Petroleum Congress, 10,000 expected to attend
Quote:
Delegates of the World Petroleum Council selected Houston to host the 2020 World Petroleum Congress, which is held every three years and is expected to draw more than 10,000 attendees.
Houston last hosted the event in 1987, and the city unsuccessfully bid for the 2014 and 2017 events, which went to Moscow and Istanbul, respectively. This time, Houston was competing against Vancouver for the event, which is expected to create an economic impact of between $60 million and $80 million.
The city’s bid committee was composed of more than 20 individuals from a variety of organizations, including committee Chair Galen Cobb, vice president of industry relations at Houston-based Halliburton Co. Mayor Turner served as honorary chair and led the delegation to Bahrain, where the voted was held on Dec. 14. Houston First Corp. steered the bid.
Bringing more convention business to the Bayou City has been a major focus for Houston First. The organization already has landed some major events related to science and technology, and it hopes the projects built in preparation for the 2017 Super Bowl will attract bigger conventions in the long term.
Although Houston First is working to diversify Houston’s convention business beyond energy, the World Petroleum Congress is a major win for the city and its largest industry, Mike Waterman, president of the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau and executive vice president of Houston First, said in a release.
“Not only will the event have a significant economic impact on our city — filling our hotels and restaurants — it will also help create new business opportunities for our energy companies,” Waterman said in the release. “Capitalizing on the strength of Houston’s core industries when going after business is a growing focus for us at Visit Houston.”
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