As Spokane reopens to in-person gatherings in 2022 after two years of canceled events, two conferences have the potential to shine national spotlights on the city: The Public Relations Society of America Travel & Tourism conference this spring, and the Association of Chief Executives in Sports conference in late summer.

The PRSA conference will be held May 22-25 at the Grand Davenport Hotel and Spokane Convention Center, downtown. Attendees will have the opportunity to sit in on panels led by media professionals from publications such as National Geographic Travel, Wine Enthusiast, Travel Noire, Passport Magazine, and Outside magazine, among many others, says Kate Hudson, public relations manager for Visit Spokane.

Keynote speakers will be author Cheryl Strayed and country music star Jimmie Allen.

“The conference is small, but it packs a huge punch,” says Hudson. “The attendees are travel savvy, so they’ll be posting about Spokane all over social media. Plus, the potential for national coverage is big.”

Prior to the pandemic, the conference attracted between 400 and 500 attendees annually. However, the pandemic has decimated much of the travel and tourism industry, and the number of attendees expected for the 2022 Spokane conference currently hovers around 275, says Hudson.

The economic impact of the conference alone is estimated at a modest $250,000, which takes into account hotel stays, food, shopping, and attractions, says Hudson. Regardless of the comparatively small size of the conference, the publicity that’s expected to be produced by the group of travel writers in attendance has the potential to attract new tourism dollars.

“I can’t put a number on the earned media value, but if anything, Spokane will be at the front of some major media in the travel industry,” says Hudson.

Amy Moore, events manager, professional interest sections, PRSA, also claims there’s potential for visibility on the national stage.

“The conference will bring in 40-plus journalists from around the country to participate in Spokane and get to know it, and they have the power of the pen,” Moore says. “For them to go back and write about Spokane in national publications is an incredible opportunity.”

Visit Spokane has been working to bring the PRSA conference to Spokane since 2016. In the fall of 2018, Visit Spokane won the bid to host it in 2020, but the event was postponed due to the pandemic.

In 2019, the conference was held in Philadelphia.

Morgan Snyder is the travel and tourism section chair for PRSA and participated in the selection process in which Spokane was named the next PRSA destination. Snyder says that when selecting a city, the committee likes to look outside Los Angeles and  New York to other cities that have a lot to offer and much to gain from the exposure the conference brings.

Moore adds that when scouting Spokane, one of the amenities that the organization wanted to showcase to attendees was Riverfront Park with its new improvements, “It’s an amazing story of redevelopment for the city,” she says.

The conference also will be using Riverfront Park on opening night, says Hudson.

Other local stops for attendees include a media mixer night at Arbor Crest Wine Cellars, in Spokane Valley, and a “Dine Around” experience to be organized by Visit Spokane on May 23, in which 20 Spokane restaurants will host groups of attendees, says Hudson. Spokane’s Fleet Feet running shoe and apparel store also will host a morning 5K run to show off the city.

Hudson says the conference will have an overall theme showcasing Spokane’s spirit of renovation and innovation.

The conference will include a panel on indigenous tourism and the importance of including indigenous people in a city’s tourism and narrative, a food and beverage workshop, and an outdoor adventure panel.

In light of the recent opening of The Podium indoor sports venue on Spokane’s North Bank area and the start of construction of an outdoor stadium nearby, the conference also will feature a panel on sports tourism titled “Win Win—Leveraging Sports Coverage to Enhance Your Story.”

Ashely Blake, vice president of Spokane Sports Commission, claims the ACES conference, which will be held Sept. 19-22, at the Spokane Convention Center, will further spotlight Spokane’s position as a sports-minded city.

The ACES conference also is comparatively small, however, it brings influential sports leaders together, such as the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic governing bodies, Blake says.

Spokane Sports Commission president and CEO, Eric Sawyer calls the event a “bucket list conference.”

“To have some of the most influential sports decision makers coming to Spokane, experiencing our beautiful city, and spending time in our new state-of-the-art facility—The Podium—could potentially bring new sports business to Spokane for years to come,” Sawyer says in a press release about the conference.

Blake says that the timing for this conference is crucial.

“In September, The Podium will be celebrating one year, the construction of the downtown stadium will be well underway, and the renovations at Riverfront Park will be finished,” she notes. “We want to make a big splash as all our sports pieces will be coming together.”

Spokane Sports Commission is a nonprofit economic development organization that recruits sports events into the Spokane region and serves as a sports hosting team, says Blake. The ACES conference will provide the organization the opportunity to build relationships that can further its mission, she contends.

“It’s safe to say that the conference positions Spokane to host a sports championship that could potentially bring several million dollars of economic impact to our city,” says Blake.