Health care convention's big return to Orlando signals convention business rebound
It's called HIMSS for short because it's got a really big name: Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society.
Its return to Orlando is also a very big deal.
“I think COVID-19 really intensified our industry,” Nabeel Saleem said.
Saleem is with VeeOne health, a provider of telehealth tech that can help doctors communicate virtually with patients.
Ironically, the pandemic boosted business but also made this the first canceled event at the Orange County Convention Center.
This week, it's back with vendors, buyers and industry movers and shakers, finally meeting face to face.
“I do expect that this will play a significant ROI for many businesses here,” Saleem said.
And that means more profit, according to Saleem.
Hal Wolf is the CEO of HIMSS. Wolf says 26,000 attendees will generate $77 million in economic impact for greater Orlando while establishing key partnerships.
“And it feeds on itself because now you are establishing relationships year after year which is why people come back year after year,” Wolf said.
When the pandemic started, 59 events at the Orange County Convention Center have canceled in 2020 and 29 more events last year.
That's roughly $2 billion lost in local economic impact.
The center will get a chunk of that business back this year with projections for 140 events, drawing 1.4 million attendees, delivering $2.4 billion in economic impact.
“So we will be back to normal, about the same number of conventions,” Mark Tester, executive director of the Orange County Convention Center said.
Tester says attendees can be assured that just because COVID-19 safety protocols have been relaxed, the center's ramped-up cleaning regimens remain in place permanently.
“And that's something that we are committed to, so we're ready to go back at any point… And we will probably have events come in and say we want to tighten it up with masks or other things,” Tester said.