Meeting Professionals International broke attendance records this week when more than 3,400 delegates met for the group's World Education Congress, the largest gathering ever of meeting professionals.

MPI president Ed Griffin in part credited the economic downturn for drawing so many people, especially meeting planners, who numbered about 1,150 people. "When there is a lot of pressure on reducing meetings and meeting expenses," said Griffin, "meeting planners want to have the newest skills, knowledge, talents, and abilities so they can prove their value to their organizations."

The three-day meeting, which was held at the Venetian Hotel and adjacent Sands Expo Center, also marked the largest percentage of online registration for an MPI convention, 42 percent.

MPI celebrated its continued growth, announcing it had reached 19,000 members. Just last January in New Orleans at its North America Professional Education Conference, MPI announced it had passed the 18,000-member mark.