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Con Vis lures corporate biz with marketing campaign: bureau targets last minute planners with meeting guarantee.

Article Excerpt
It's no secret that the meetings industry has been hard hit as across the nation corporate America tightens its belt.

Convention and meeting destinations nationwide are facing major challenges as they cope with an ever-changing consumer mar ketplace and a three-year decline in business travel.

The reasons for the decline are multifold. The meetings market has been negatively impacted by the recession, the events of Sept. 11, and the subsequent war in Iraq, an uneven economic recovery, a declining stock market, and multiple corporate accounting scandals. Consumer confidence is low, weakened by world events, an unstable economy, and high unemployment levels. As a result, corporate America's profit crunch has forced businesses to slash their discretionary spending, especially for travel and entertainment.

The decision on whether or not to attend a convention or meeting is also no longer easy for the company employee. Factors such as time away from the office, time away from home. and loved ones and the psychological negatives involved in air travel play a major role in decision-making. Also, lifestyle shifts, including the fact that 62 percent of the nation's mothers now work, also factor into the equation. Business travel...