The International Union for Conservation of Nature has announced that the state of Hawaii will be hosting the World Conservation Congress in 2016. The event, which will take place in Honolulu from September 1 to September 10, 2016, is expected to bring in about 8,000 political and business leaders from over 160 countries, and they will be meeting to discuss the world's most pressing environmental and developmental challenges. The state of Hawaii will be held responsible for paying for about half of the events budget, or just of $10 million of the $20 million total anticipated costs. Mark McGuffie, the managing director of Enterprise Honolulu, noted, "This is the Olympics of conservation. The benefits go way beyond tourism. We have many, many islands in the Pacific that are being threatened and we have our own challenges here in Hawaii. The chance to collaborate with 160 nations provides a great opportunity to make some major changes that protect what we have and restore what we should."
Brian Lynx, the vice president of meetings, conventions, and incentives for the Hawaii Tourism Authority, commented, "The economic impact is estimated at $37.7 million in visitor spending and $3.6 million in tax. Hawaii's selection further validates our position as an ideal location for high-level meetings and the cross-pollination of groundbreaking, world-changing vision and ideas. Their confidence in our ability to host a global conference of this scale is no doubt bolstered by our reputation for successfully handling other conventions of this scope and importance."
Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 5-22-2014, www.staradvertiser.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Principal Broker, REALTOR®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
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