COLUMBUS, Ohio—Experience Columbus, the destination marketing organization for the Columbus region, dedicated to growing visitor spending and enhancing the visitor experience, is thrilled to announce that Columbus has been selected by Future Business Leaders of America, Inc. (FBLA) to host its 2027 National Leadership Conference June 23-26, 2027. FBLA is the largest national association Columbus has ever hosted and is the largest career and technical student organization in the world focused solely on business.
The best and brightest middle and high school FBLA members will attend the 2027 event, which is considered the culmination of the FBLA experience. During the four-day conference, attendees from across the country will compete in leadership events, share their successes, build their networks and learn new ideas about shaping their career future through workshops and exhibits. The conference will have a significant economic impact on the city with an anticipated 16,000 attendees, $20.5 million in anticipated direct visitor spend and a total of 28,155 room nights.
“Being selected to host this prestigious event is a major win for Columbus as we continue to prove why we’re an ideal destination for meetings and conventions,” said Brian Ross, President and CEO of Experience Columbus. “Columbus recently earned the ranking of one of the top 10 cities in the country for young professionals to live, so in addition to the major economic impact this event will have on our city in the short-term, we also hope to showcase the many reasons Columbus is a great place to live and conduct business.”
Securing the 2027 FBLA conference comes during a banner year for Experience Columbus, which hosted PCMA Convening Leaders 2023 in January and the U.S. Conference of Mayors Annual Meeting in June. Part of what influenced their decision to choose Columbus was seeing firsthand how the entire city comes together to warmly welcomes visitors during two past large events, PCMA earlier this year and ASAE in 2019.
“Columbus, Ohio offers FBLA’s National Leadership Conference and its 14,000 students a fresh approach for our 2027 event,” said Alexander T. Graham, FBLA President and CEO. “There is a spirit of collaboration from all leaders including hospitality, civic, and industry that is hard to find in other cities. From the state-of-the-art conference facilities and vibrant downtown to the thriving business community, Columbus has it all.”
The 2027 conference will be held at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. As the 14th largest city in the country and one of the fastest growing cities in the Midwest with a thriving business community, Columbus is perfectly aligned with FBLA. The Columbus Region is home to 16 Fortune 1000 companies, representing a diverse group of industries, and five Fortune 500 companies, including Nationwide, AEP and Cardinal Health.
To learn more about why Columbus is an ideal meetings destination and about the city’s dynamic convention package that can fit the needs of any group, visit experiencecolumbus.com/meetings.
About Experience Columbus
Experience Columbus is the destination marketing organization for the Columbus region, dedicated to growing visitor spending and enhancing the visitor experience. Annually, visitors make 49.6 million trips to Greater Columbus for conventions, trade shows, sporting events and leisure visits, spending $6.6 billion and supporting nearly 75,000 jobs. Columbus is proud to have hosted the 2023 U.S. Conference of Mayors Annual Meeting in June and PCMA Convening Leaders 2023, which brought together the world's business events professionals in January. For more information, visit ExperienceColumbus.com.
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Media Contacts:
Leah Berger, APR: lberger@experiencecolumbus.com | 614-222-6145
Cameron Tirado, ECI: ctirado@experiencecolumbus.com | 610-389-6833
