Gary Sain, President of the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, said the International Plastics Showcase has an economic value of almost $100 million.

A bold move

Sain pointed out that the plastics manufacturers are taking a chance by moving their convention from a city they are comfortable with to some place new, some place in the south, some place with no real history of manufacturing.

He sees it as an opportunity to convince other trade groups to take a second look at Orlando.

"What appealed to plastics was not only the 6,000-8,000 rooms that are close to the convention center, but also the variety of price points we offer," he explained.

"The economy also has changed us too," said Sain. "When times gets tougher, the costs become so much greater... the costs have really driven this in many ways."

"OIA was a high mark," he added, calling it one of the best service airports in the world.

Airfares here also are lower than in some other cities.

"Being able to keep fares reasonable, we are able to attract the leisure market and the business meeting and convention market that's so important to our economy," said airport spokeswoman Carolyn Fennell. 

"Unlike some cities, the largest cities where you have one airline that has a dominant market share, our largest carrier only has 21% of the market. That means that airline's competing with others."

Now the hard work begins

"We have as much to gain and as much to lose as plastics," the CVB's Sain said.

"If this is successful, this will help to ensure our future success. If this is not, this will take us back. This is a game changer." he pointed out.

"Our reputation is everything."