Business View Magazine | April 2019

95 T o those outside of the business events industry, the sector is viewed as one of meetings and conventions. To busi- ness events professionals, it’s a behe- moth with an economic spend of $1.7 trillion. “If the business events industry were a country, it would have a seat at the G20 Summit,” says Sherrif Karamat, CAE, President and CEO of the Professional Convention Management Associa- tion (PCMA), an association for the business events industry. “And, that’s direct spending. You can safely add another half-trillion dollars to represent economic impact.” And business events are about more than just global economic implications, there’s a social progress component as well. “We know when we meet face-to-face, we see eye-to-eye be- cause we break down any barriers that may have stood between us so we can share knowl- edge and find solutions,” Karamat explains. “And, when we come together with a common purpose, we can affect change in the world. We’re not just about helping business events professionals do their jobs better, but how they can transform communities through their work.”