Multicultural Affairs Congress

The Philadelphia Multicultural Affairs Congress (MAC) is a division of the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau. The mission of MAC is to ensure that the multicultural community is an integral part of all aspects of the Greater Philadelphia hospitality industry. It is governed by a Board of Directors and comprised of racially and ethnically diverse members who represent a cross section of Philadelphia's business, government, cultural, hospitality and civic communities. In dollars and cents, the value of the MAC exceeds $1 billion, a symbolic figure representing the amount of multicultural convention business the PCVB has booked since the MAC was created as one of its divisions in 1987. At that time, approximately four multicultural conventions were on the books for Philadelphia. Fast forward to today and the number has increased by 1,400 percent – an astounding jump demonstrating the substantial impact of the MAC.

Visit the Multicultural Affairs Congress Web site: www.PhiladelphiaMAC.org.


 

For more information about the Multicultural Affairs Congress, contact Tanya Hall, Executive Director, at 215-636-4433 or tanyah@pcvb.org.

MAC WORKS TO...

  • Increase Philadelphia's share of national multicultural meetings and conventions.
  • Support and promote the preservation and expansion of Philadelphia's multicultural institutions, events, and attractions as regional tourism products.
  • Increase educational, training and employment opportunities for multicultural individuals within the local hospitality industry.
  • Increase multicultural business opportunities within the local hospitality industry for people of color.
  • Create a presence of diversity within the Philadelphia region's hospitality and tourism industry.
  • Develop and promote MAC as an inclusive organization comprised of African-American, Latino, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Native-American members.

HISTORY & ACCOMPLISHMENTS

  • 1987
    • Minority Advisory Council (MAC) is formed as a division of the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau (PCVB), which is the first multicultural division of a convention & visitors bureau in the nation.
  • 1988
    • Increase business opportunities within the local hospitality industry for people of color.
  • 1989
    • MAC sponsors an addendum to the Pennsylvania Convention Center lease, providing 10 years of funding for training and education programs.
  • 1991
    • U.S. Department of Commerce, Travel and Tourism Administration designates Philadelphia as the No. 1 city for minority tourism.
  • 1993
    • MAC celebrates the $100 million mark reached in conventions and meetings business since the inception of the organization.
  • 1994
    • MAC hosts its first Hospitality, Career and Education Fair for high school and college students.
  • 1995
    • The U.S. Department of Commerce one again cites Philadelphia as a model city for multicultural tourism.
    • MAC celebrates the $300 million mark reached in conventions and meetings business.
    1998
    • Philadelphia is named one of the top 10 cities for Black families by Essence Magazine and one of the top 10 cities for Hispanic travelers by Hispanic Magazine.
    • The National Council of La Raza, the nation's largest Hispanic organization, brings their annual convention to Philadelphia with 13,000 attendees totaling more than $4 million in economic impact, enhancing Philadelphia's standing as a destination for Hispanic travelers, meetings and conventions.
    • The National Urban League brings their annual convention to Philadelphia with 10,000 attendees totaling nearly $10 million in economic impact, contributing to Philadelphia's standing as a destination for African American meetings and conventions.
    • MAC releases its first-ever comprehensive multicultural visitors guide, the "Share the Heritage Guide," a reference directory to multicultural attractions, restaurants, venues and cultural sites in Philadelphia.
    1999
    • MAC reaches the $500 million mark in conventions and meetings business.
    2000
    • MAC assists in securing two of the most sought after organizations who will host their annual conventions in Philadelphia - The National Baptist Convention, U.S.A., in 2002, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 2004.
    2001
    • Philadelphia is named one of the top 10 "Best Cities" for African Americans in Black Enterprise Magazine.
    2002
    • MAC makes history for Philadelphia by launching the first multicultural travel website in the nation, www.philadelphiamac.org.
    • Philadelphia hosts the 122nd annual session of the National Baptist Convention, USA Inc. with 30,000 attendees and more than $39 million in economic impact to the region.
    • MAC reaches the $750 million mark in projected delegate spending.
    • MAC unveils its Three-Year Strategic Hospitality Plan designed to keep Philadelphia on the map as America's number one multicultural travel destination.
    • Philadelphia receives Hispanic Meeting & Travel Magazine's 1st Image Award for Best Convention & Visitors Bureau (East)
    2003
    • MAC announces the multicultural travel market exceeds $1 billion in visitor spending for the greater Philadelphia region.
    • Philadelphia welcomes the Ancient Egyptian Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine National convention with its 15,000 attendees representing more than $24 million in economic impact.
    • MAC and the PCVB united to create the first-joint membership directory. The directory features a special index highlighting multiculturally owned businesses.
    2004
    • With more than 70,000 multicultural room nights, the year 2004 marks an unprecedented record for Philadelphia in hosting PCVB booked multicultural meetings and conventions, comprising nearly 15% of PCVB bookings.
    • MAC celebrates the year of African American national leadership conventions by welcoming the National Conference of Black Mayors, the National Forum for Black Public Administrators, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and The National Caucus for Black State Legislators with the NAACP alone totaling more than 8,000 attendees with an economic impact of more than $12 million.
    • Philadelphia is named one of the top 10 cities for Black families by Black Enterprise magazine and a top minority friendly city by Meetings & Conventions Magazine.
    • MAC premiered the first-ever flash introduction page for www.philadelphiamac.org and celebrated Philly International's musical legacy by placing "The Sound of Philadelphia" music within the flash.
    2005
    • Philadelphia is named a top 10 city for multicultural meetings by Hispanic Meetings & Travel Magazine.
    • MAC partnered with Univision 65 and Bank of America to produce Philadelphia's first-ever promotional DVD dedicated to increasing the Hispanic meeting and conventions market.
    • Philadelphia hosts the National Council of La Raza national convention and its 23,000 attendees, bringing more than $9.6 million in economic impact to the region.
    • MAC produced its first-ever Hispanic focused attendee brochure, "Hispanic Guide to Philadelphia" with Impacto Latin Newspaper.

 

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