Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau Books Narcotics Anonymous 2013 World Convention at Pennsylvania Convention Center; The Recently-Hosted Professional Convention Management Association Annual Meeting and New Updates on Expansion Credited

Business Wire, Feb 15, 2006

PHILADELPHIA -- Officials from Narcotics Anonymous World Services (NAWS), the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau (PCVB) and Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority today announced that NAWS has selected Philadelphia as the host city for its biennial world convention due to the recent success of the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) Annual Meeting and positive updates on the expansion of the Pennsylvania Convention Center. The 35th World Convention of Narcotics Anonymous will take place in Philadelphia from August 29-September 1, 2013. The event is expected to attract more than 30,000 attendees utilizing up to 14,485 room nights with an economic impact of nearly $17 million for the Philadelphia region.

Michael Polin, director of conventions, meetings and events for Narcotics Anonymous World Services; Hon. Michael Nutter, board chairman of the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority; Dittie Guise, chief operating officer of the Pennsylvania Convention Center; and Jack Ferguson, executive vice president of the PCVB, officially signed the contract today at a press conference at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

"We are thrilled about the opportunity to bring our Narcotics Anonymous World Convention with its 30,000 attendees representing over 40 countries to Philadelphia. The expansion of the Pennsylvania Convention Center has allowed us for the first time to seriously consider the city," said Polin. "This convention is a non revenue-generating event for NA. The purpose of the convention is to make recovery in NA available to all in need, and we will partner with our members, public and private agencies, and the general public by providing access to recovery meetings throughout the event."

"This group is really a win-win for Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Convention Center," said Chairman Nutter. "We were unable to host this group in Philadelphia because we did not have the square footage to fit their needs. Now, with expansion underway, Philadelphia will have the space that meeting planners have asked for and that will mean great economic impact for the citizens of Philadelphia and the region."

"We are very excited to welcome Narcotics Anonymous World Services to Philadelphia in 2013. This convention is also very special to Philadelphia because it is the first convention we have booked since the highly successful PCMA annual meeting held in Philadelphia last month," said Ferguson. "We expect to book many more groups in the next six months as a result of the positive experiences we know the 1,500 meeting planners, such as Narcotics Anonymous World Services, had while in Philadelphia."

The program for the NAWS consists of recovery meetings where members of the fellowship, not professional speakers, share their "experience, strength, and hope" on various topics in concurrent workshops and general sessions. Attendees use the convention as a networking, or "fellowshipping" opportunity with a culmination at the general session, World Unity Day. This session is teleconferenced to thousands of members at more than 150 locations in 30-40 countries around the world, including many drug treatment centers located in correctional institutions.

"It is so exciting to have Narcotics Anonymous World Services be the first group to book at the Pennsylvania Convention Center since steps toward expansion of the center have been officially announced. This convention will not only have a great financial impact on Philadelphia, but it brings with it a positive social impact," said Guise. "Pennsylvania's citizens will benefit from this truly world conference."

NAWS is an international community-based organization of recovering drug addicts. Started in 1953, the NA movement is the world's oldest and largest self-help organization for people in recovery from drug addiction, with more than 35,000 weekly meetings in 126 countries, speaking approximately 65 different languages accounting for over 400,000 members worldwide. For more information on Narcotics Anonymous, visit www.na.org.

The Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau (PCVB), www.pcvb.org, a private non-profit corporation, is the City of Philadelphia's and Pennsylvania Convention Center's primary sales and marketing organization. The mission of the PCVB is to market Philadelphia as a convention, meeting and tourist destination to regional, national and international audiences. Focusing on the meetings and conventions business and the travel trade, the PCVB's sales force works diligently to increase the city's hotel occupancy and average daily rate, while concurrently affecting other segments of the hospitality industry.