'07 conventions worth $300m, authority says

Boston Convention & Exhibition Center (Globe file photo)

The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority says the top 25 conventions this year will bring 238,000 attendees to Boston and generate $300 million worth of economic impact.

The authority, which operates the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center in South Boston and the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center in the Back Bay, said attendees will book 400,000 hotel room nights.

Beginning today at the Hynes, the Yankee Dental Congress projects an economic impact of $20.2 million; in April, an information-technology conference called AIIM & On-Demand will be the largest convention ever hosted by the authority, drawing 35,000 people to the South Boston center and generating an estimated $27.9 million, the authority said.

Other highlights of the '07 schedule include events by the American Association of Retired Persons, the American College of Rheumatology, and the International Boston Seafood Show.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)