KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kansas City will welcome thousands of convention attendees in October as it hosts three large events at the KC Convention Center.
Visitors from these three events alone are expected to generate $10.3 million in economic impact as they explore Kansas City’s restaurants, shops and attractions during their trips.
The U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce will host its 2024 National Conference at the Kansas City Convention Center from Oct. 6-8.
Kansas City is the birthplace of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and the organization is bringing its national conference back to KC for the first time in 25 years. As the largest gathering of Hispanic business leaders in America, this annual event brings together local Hispanic chambers of commerce, business experts and more.
Visit KC expects to welcome approximately 2,000 attendees for the USHCC National Conference, generating $2 million in economic impact during their time in the destination.
From Oct. 18-20, Planet Anime Kansas City will once again return to Bartle Hall with a full lineup of anime voice actors, exhibitors, special events and creative cosplay. Organizers estimate about 7,000 will attend the 3-day event in Downtown KC, leading to $2.1 million in economic impact.
Wrapping up the busy month, Sweet Adelines International will host its 2024 Convention and Competition at the Kansas City Convention Center’s Municipal Arena from Oct. 28-Nov. 2. This a cappella women’s singing event is expected to welcome around 3,000 attendees from across the country and generate $6.2 million in economic impact.
Transit, Road Closures & Parking
With Downtown Kansas City bustling with activity in October, Kansas City-area residents and visitors should be aware of increased foot traffic throughout the month, plus changes to public transit and short-term road closures.
For approximately 4 weeks, KC Streetcar service is temporarily suspended and has been replaced by free RideKC bus service. This change is necessary to allow KC Streetcar crews to connect the existing route with the upcoming Main Street extension.
Additionally, Planet Anime will be held the same weekend as Cornucopia, the Power & Light District’s free fall festival, and the Garmin KC Marathon, the city’s largest race event.
Temporary road closures will be in place around Downtown and other KC neighborhoods for the Garmin KC Marathon and for Cornucopia. Planet Anime organizers are urging attendees to plan their route and parking ahead of time.
Find maps of KC Marathon courses, Cornucopia road closures and Downtown KC parking options here to plan for a visit Downtown.
A Dynamic Destination for Conventions
Looking ahead, as the chief hospitality sales force for the Kansas City Convention Center, Visit KC continues to see substantial success in the meetings & conventions market.
In 2024 to date, the Visit KC team has booked nearly 400 future meetings and conventions representing over 390,000 future occupied hotel room nights and creating a future estimated economic impact of $268 million. Major bookings such as the 2025 Unidos US Annual Conference and the 2027 National Athletic Directors Conference & Exhibit Show are just a few of the successes the destination has secured this year.
“Visit KC and Kansas City are on a roll right now, and meeting and convention planners are seeing that,” said Nathan Hermiston, Visit KC’s senior vice president of sales and services.
“These meeting attendees are coming to KC, experiencing our dynamic destination, filling our convention center, hotels, restaurants and more that generate significant economic impact for the benefit of the greater Kansas City region. As we look ahead, we continue to see successes that will sustain and grow our hospitality industry and the destination well into the future.”
About Visit KC
Headquartered in Downtown Kansas City, Visit KC is the chief hospitality sales and marketing organization for the region. With a mission of creating global passion for Kansas City, Visit KC collaborates with nearly 1,000 community partners to drive the marketing, sales and service of the destination’s convention and tourism industry—a sector that supports more than 128,000 local jobs. For more information about Kansas City, go to news.visitkc.com.
