Late fall visitors more than double over last year in R.I.

MARTHA SHERIDAN, president and CEO of the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau, said about 10,800 visitors will be staying for various lengths of time at five different events in the two cities this fall. / COURTESY PROVIDENCE WARWICK CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU
MARTHA SHERIDAN, president and CEO of the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau, said about 10,800 visitors will be staying for various lengths of time at five different events in the two cities this fall. / COURTESY PROVIDENCE WARWICK CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU

PROVIDENCE – Off-peak conventions and large events booked in Rhode Island for Nov. 8 through Dec. 7 account for nearly 20,000 contracted hotel room nights, more than double the number compared with this time last year, according to the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau.
The visitors bureau recorded 8,465 contracted room nights last year for a slightly longer time period, from Nov 1. to Dec. 7 of 2013, for Providence and Warwick, said Kristen Adamo, the visitors bureau’s vice president of marketing and communications, in an email.
About 10,800 visitors will be staying for various lengths of time at five different events in the two cities, said Martha Sheridan, president and CEO of the visitors bureau, which brought the businesses to the area. That number reflects rooms booked through room blocks set up by meeting planners, she added. The actual number of nights booked is probably even higher, since some visitors book rooms on their own, she said.
The American Contract Bridge League is coming to Providence for its 2014 Fall North American Championships from Nov. 27 through Dec. 7.
“Contract bridge is an especially lucrative event, as it will bring 4,000 card players here for up to 10 days,” Sheridan explained. “It also begins the day after Thanksgiving, which is typically a quieter time for area hotels. We project this one event to have an economic impact of more than $5 million.”
The other events include:

  • The International Wire & Cable Symposium, from Nov. 8-12, with 1,100 attendees

  • The American College of Sports Medicine New England Regional Chapter meeting, from Nov. 12-14, with 700 attendees
  • The Irish Dance Teachers Association of New England Orieachtas, from Nov. 21-23, with 3,000 attendees
  • The 2014 Market America Convention, from Nov. 21-23, with 2,000 attendees

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