Downtown was awash in pink and green last week when the Alpha Kappa Alpha 61st Annual South Atlantic Regional Conference checked into local hotels and the Prime Osborn Convention Center.
Alpha Kappa Alpha was founded more than 100 years ago and is the oldest sorority created for and by African-American women, according to the organization’s website.
More than 4,300 members from Florida, Georgia and South Carolina came to Jacksonville for the conference. The organization rotates its annual conference among several Southern cities, but Jacksonville is a favorite, said Crystal Pruitt, Alpha Kappa Alpha spokeswoman.
“It’s a wonderful, welcoming city and there’s a lot to do here. We like Jacksonville,” she said.
“We’re turning the city pink and green,” she said Wednesday, referring to the sorority’s signature colors.
There’s another meaning of “green” in terms of conventions.
According to an analysis by Visit Jacksonville, the Jacksonville and the Beaches Convention & Visitors Bureau, the group had an estimated direct economic impact of nearly $1.5 million, including lodging, transportation, food and beverage, retail, recreation, space rental and business services.
In November, the Duval County Tourist Development Council authorized a reimbursement to the group up to $27,200 based on $8 per documented room night.
Alex Michaels, Visit Jacksonville special markets national sales manager, said groups such as Alpha Kappa Alpha account for about 60 percent of Jacksonville’s convention group business. In addition to fraternal organizations, social, educational, military and religious organizations also are in the category.
“It’s one of the largest markets for Jacksonville,” he said.
Many groups consider Florida for their convention destination, and Jacksonville can secure the business over markets like Miami and Orlando based on several factors, he said.
“We have a great airport and we’re an affordable market. We have beautiful weather and the beach and the river. We can offer the total package,” Michaels said.
Alpha Kappa Alpha is the size group that helps hospitality properties outside the Downtown market, by causing what Michaels called “compression.”
“When groups like this fill Downtown hotels, it sends other business to suburban properties,” he said.
Visit Jacksonville has a staff of service managers who work with groups spending multiple days in Jacksonville to schedule excursions such as sightseeing and shopping trips, resulting in additional economic impact not directly related to the meeting.
Visit Jacksonville estimates Alpha Kappa Alpha delegates will contribute more than $1 million in “indirect/induced” impact, defined as business-to-business supply chain purchases and incomes spent in the local economy.
The demographics of a fraternal organization can lead to future business, said Michaels
He cited the Vietnam Veterans of America 16th National Convention in August. Michaels said one of delegates at that conference also is a member of a Special Forces veterans organization that has booked its June 2016 national meeting in Jacksonville with an estimated 4,000 room nights.
Convention attendees also return for leisure travel and family vacations,
“Any time we can get somebody to come to Jacksonville, we know they’ll fall in love with the city,” said Michaels.
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