In the next five years, more than 20,000 meeting professionals representing four of the world’s largest meeting industry associations will convene at the Hawai`i Convention Center. The success of these conferences will directly impact future convention business for Hawaii, according to Randall Tanaka, Director of Sales.  

International Association for Exposition Management (in 2001), Meeting Planning International (in 2002), American Society of Association Executives (in 2003) and Professional Convention Management Association (in 2005) will come to Hawaii for their annual conferences. Collectively, these organizations have 31,800 members worldwide.

"We are very pleased to have been selected as the host convention center for these prestigious associations," Dick Walsh, General Manager, said. "In terms of establishing our state as a premier convention destination, this will be our opportunity to really shine. These four conventions represent the industry decision makers who determine what cities and what centers are awarded group and convention business.

" In October 1999, the center successfully hosted its largest convention ever—35,000 attendees of the American Dental Association. The 4-day conference hosted by the center resulted in positive reviews by the ADA and industry experts. Opened in 1998 and managed by SMG, the Hawai`i Convention Center is one of the world’s most progressive meeting facilities—wired with fiber optic cabling, multi-lingual translation stations and satellite video conferencing.

The Hawai`i Convention Center offers more than 1 million square feet of meeting facilities including exhibit halls, theatres, and expansive conference rooms. The glass-front center captures Hawaii’s culture and charm with its architecture, $2 million Hawaiian art collection, and design features such as a rooftop tropical garden. It is one of the only centers in the U.S. to have exclusive in-house food service capabilities.