Honolulu finalist for 2011 APEC meeting
Pacific Business News (Honolulu) – by Chad Blair
Honolulu is one of three finalists in competition to host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation 2011 annual meeting.
Mike McCartney, president and CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, said Thursday that Honolulu is competing with San Francisco and Los Angeles.
McCartney said Honolulu has several advantages over the West Coast in its APEC bid, including Waikiki hotels close to the Hawaii Convention Center, U.S. Pacific Command headquarters in Honolulu, and the state’s multi-ethnic mix.
Hawaii’s location, its indigenous culture, secure military facilities, and strong ties to President Obama, who was born and raised in the Islands, have previously been cited as aiding the state’s bid.
The APEC meeting rotates among members, and 2011 is the turn for the United States.
The group’s 21 nation members represent 40 percent of the world’s population and more than 50 percent of world gross domestic product.
Joe Davis, SMG Hawaii’s manager of the Convention Center, told PBN that APEC would issue a final decision about the 2011 meeting sometime this summer.
If successful, the Honolulu meeting would be held Nov. 12-20, 2011.
The 2009 APEC meeting will be in Singapore, and the 2010 meeting will be in Japan.
Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2009/05/25/daily41.html
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