Massachusetts Convention Center Authority: 2012 best year since 2007

By Katie Johnston, Globe Staff

In another sign that Boston is shaking off the economic downturn, the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority reported today that 2012 will be its best year since 2007, with booked conventions expected to generate more than 600,000 hotel room stays for the first time in five years.

The banner convention year shows that not only are meeting planners holding more events as the economy improves, but also that the seven-year-old Boston Convention & Exhibition Center is coming into its own, said James Rooney, executive director of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority.

“There’s a pattern in this industry in which these events will wait a few years to book into a city with a new center, just to see how others experience works out,” he said. “It’s almost like restaurant behavior: You kind of wait for someone else to try it. “

Among the events coming to Boston next year is the BIO International Convention, the largest biotechnology conference in the world, which was last held in Boston in 2007. Next year’s conventions are expected to generate $625 million in economic activity, according to the convention authority.

Katie Johnston can be reached at kjohnston@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @ktkjohnston.