Meetings in The Woodlands play a key role in the economic vitality of The Woodlands.
As the official Destination Marketing & Management Organization of The Woodlands Township, The Woodlands Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) is a 501(c)(6) organization led by a volunteer board of directors and has staff members who work daily to get valuable tourism and convention/meeting dollars to the community.
“Storytellers and Matchmakers” is a common phrase in the CVB’s office. Marketing is made up of storytellers, sharing the story of The Woodlands as a business and leisure destination. Sales and Tourism are the matchmakers, pairing together meeting planners and event organizers with the right people and places in The Woodlands.
Visit The Woodlands also encourages residents and businesses to help in our efforts of promoting The Woodlands as a meetings destination.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
The Woodlands has 14 hotels with a total inventory of 2,254 rooms each night. Sales, hotel and mixed use beverage tax makes up between 55% and 60% of the overall Township budget which helps keep the Township tax rate low for residents and businesses.
The State of Texas shows travel and tourism employs more than 4,000 people with a total economic impact of direct travel spending of $439 million in The Woodlands. (Source: Travel Texas Research)
MEETINGS & CONVENTIONS IN THE WOODLANDS
Last fall, Visit The Woodlands’ storytellers and matchmakers worked hand-in-hand to create an incredible experience for attendees at "Connect Texas", an annual conference that brings together over 50 meeting planners for networking and education. The conference is held in a different Texas location each year.
“It’s really important for [The Woodlands] to gain exposure, because a lot of people are still learning what The Woodlands has to offer as a meetings destination,” said Josie Lewis, Visit The Woodlands’ Director of Sales. “When they’re in town and see what The Woodlands has, the likelihood of them booking a meeting here goes up exponentially.”
In previous years, Visit The Woodlands’ sales team has hosted small-scale site tours, where 10-15 event planners toured the area to see hotel properties and destination amenities. Conferences like Connect Texas act as large site tours, bringing over 50 meeting planners to The Woodlands at once.
On the first night of Connect Texas in The Woodlands, meeting planners attended an opening night reception at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. Visit The Woodlands’ marketing team helped bring the event to life with the “9 Wanders of The Woodlands”, which highlighted key reasons why The Woodlands is a great meeting destination.
Mrs. Lewis worked with Ashley White, Visit The Woodlands’ Director of Marketing, to develop the concept. What began as the “7 Wonders” evolved into the “9 Wanders”, a nod to The Woodlands’ nine distinct areas of The Woodlands - encompassing eight villages and Town Center - and how the forested area invites meeting planners and attendees to wander and explore.
“The flipbook became a great sales tool that attendees could use after they left Connect Texas,” Mrs. White said. “They walked away with a piece they could use to say, ‘Here are all the reasons that we should host a meeting in The Woodlands.’”
Outside of this group, Visit The Woodlands was actively working with 184 different leads in 2023, representing 86,605 hotel rooms and an economic impact of $28.5 million.
If you have ideas of meetings and groups to bring to The Woodlands, Visit The Woodlands is here to help. Please reach out to Josie Lewis, Director of Sales, to learn more.
