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Overview: The award-winning Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) goes the extra mile to make every day extraordinary by offering customer service excellence and industry-leading partnerships. From their dedicated in-house Rigging team to their robust Exhibitor Services, The Center of Hospitality brings your imagination to life by helping you host unforgettable meetings and events. With more than 2 million square feet of exhibit space, world-class services and a dream destination, we are committed to making even the most ambitious conventions a reality. In October 2023, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners voted to approve allocating Tourist Development Tax funding for the $560 million Phase 5A completion of the OCCC. The Convention Way Grand Concourse project will include enhancements to the North-South Building, featuring an additional 60,000 square feet of meeting space, an 80,000- square-foot ballroom and new entry to the North-South Building along Convention Way. “We are thrilled to begin work on completing our North-South Building which will allow us to meet the growing needs of our clients,” said OCCC Executive Director Mark Tester. “As an economic driver for the community, this project will provide the Center with connectivity and meeting space to host more events and continue to infuse the local economy with new money and expanding business opportunities.” Amenities: The Center of Hospitality goes above and beyond by offering world-class customer service and industry-leading partnerships. From the largest convention center Wi-Fi network to custom LAN/WAN design, the Center takes pride in enhancing exhibitor and customer experience.  The OCCC is the exclusive provider of electricity (24-hour power at no additional cost), aerial rigging and lighting, water, natural gas and propane, compressed air, and cable TV services. Convenience The Center is at the epicenter of the destination, with an abundance of hotels, restaurants, and attractions within walking distance. Pedestrian bridges connect both buildings to more than 5,200 rooms and is within a 15-minute drive from the Orlando International Airport. The convenience of the location goes hand-in-hand with top notch service to help meet an event’s every need. Gold Key Members The OCCC’s Gold Key Members represent the best of the best when it comes to exceptional service and exclusive benefits for clients, exhibitors and guests. The Center’s Gold Key memberships with Universal Orlando Resort, SeaWorld Orlando and Walt Disney World greatly enhance meeting planner and attendee experiences offering world-renowned venues, immersive experiences and creative resources for their events. OCCC Events: This fiscal year, the OCCC is projected to host 168 events, 1.7 million attendees, and $2.9 billion in economic impact.  The Center’s top five events during their 2022-2023 fiscal year included:  AAU Jr. National Volleyball Championships 2023 200,000 Attendees $257 Million in Economic Impact MEGACON 2023 160,000 Attendees $205 Million in Economic Impact Open Championship Series 2023 69,500 Attendees $89 Million in Economic Impact Sunshine Classic 2023 42,000 Attendees $54 Million in Economic Impact Premiere Orlando 2023 42,000 Attendees $108 Million in Economic Impact
May 01, 2024
While post-COVID international travel to the U.S. reopened in late 2021, trade show, conference and corporate meeting organizers across the country have not been able to bring all their international exhibitors and attendees to their events in the U.S. Why? Persistent visa processing delays in many key markets around the world.  Here’s an example: If a would-be exhibitor or attendee from Mexico City applied for a visitor visa for the first time at the local U.S. embassy today, they would have to wait 878 days for an interview with a consular officer.  That’s not 878 days to get a visa, just an interview as part of the visa application process! The story is similar for visa applicants in Bogota (685 days), Istanbul (553 days), Mumbai (494 days) and Abu Dhabi (458 days). Since international exhibitors and attendees need to start making financial outlays up to one year in advance of coming to events in the U.S., these long wait times mean that the U.S. is still closed for business to visitors from many countries. It’s not all bad news, however. Average visitor visa interview wait times in Brazil are down more than 85 percent over the last year, and wait times remain stable in China. And there’s more help on the way.  In March, Congress provided the U.S. State Department with $50 million in extra funding to help reduce visa wait times and passport backlogs.   As Hervé Sedky, Emerald Holding Inc. president and CEO and chair of the ECA board of directors, said at the time: "Securing this funding marks an important step in reopening our doors and bringing all of our international stakeholders back to business events in the U.S., which play a vital role in driving domestic economic growth, fostering job creation and empowering U.S. small businesses every day.” While this advocacy win was good news for the industry, there is still more to be done for the State Department to meet its stated goal of having more than 90 percent of our overseas posts to have visitor visa interview wait times under 90 days in 2024.  That’s why ECA is still working on Capitol Hill to advance legislation that would help further reduce wait times while helping to ensure that such delays never happen again.  Specifically, ECA supports three bipartisan bills that would increase flexibility, transparency, and accountability when it comes to visitor visa processing. They are:  S.2632: Visa Processing Improvement Act H.R.5127: Visitor Visa Wait Time Reduction Act H.R.7263: VISITOR Act These bills will be front and center during ECA Legislative Action Day, which takes place in Washington, DC on Thursday, May 30.  This annual event brings industry leaders and advocates from across our industry to Capitol Hill to meet with policymakers about important issues that impact the business events ecosystem, including visitor visa interview wait times.  To find out how you can be part of ECA Legislative Action Day and advocate for further bringing visa wait times down, click here.   Don’t miss any event-related news: Sign up for our weekly e-newsletter HERE, listen to our latest podcast HERE and engage with us on LinkedIn!