Tourism in the Mid-Atlantic states seems to have fully recovered from the events of September 11, 2001. New York, Washington, D.C., Atlantic City, and Philadelphia are putting up the kinds of meeting attendance and visitor numbers not seen since 1999 and 2000.

The biggest news in New York City continues to be the on-again, off-again Javits Center expansion. Controversy over whether to continue with the Pataki administration's $1.8 billion expansion plan or to enlarge the project to fit present Gov. Eliot Spitzer's $3.2 billion plan has bogged down the work.

In Washington, D.C., groups may find traffic snarls but they'll also find new attractions, such as the Newseum, where groups can view Pennsylvania Avenue and the National Mall from a façade featuring a 57-foot-by-78-foot “window on the world.” And the new convention center is scoring nearly twice as many meetings as the old center, while its backers project that a new, scaled-back 1,150-room Convention Center Marriott, scheduled to open in 2011, will only raise the count.

The biggest project on deck in Baltimore is the Hilton Convention Center Hotel. The $300 million-plus, 757-room project is set to open in August 2008.

Mid-Atlantic states, like Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New York, are adding casino gaming to their mix of activities.

Meanwhile, big conventions are returning to Philadelphia's Pennsylvania Convention Center as challenges posed by unions are being addressed and expanded space is in sight. The expansion, however, which was scheduled for completion in late 2009, is being held up by threats to withhold the state's $700 million contribution unless management for the center is restored to state government.

Delaware

The Doubletree Hotel Wilmington Downtown completed a $7 million renovation. Public spaces, 217 guest rooms, and 20,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 9,300-square-foot ballroom, were redone.

The District

Construction of the long-awaited Marriott Convention Center Hotel is expected to be completed in 2011 and has been sized down to 1,150 rooms from the original 1,434 rooms.

The 1,334-room Wardman Park is undergoing a $100 million update to a contemporary look.

The 765-room JW Marriott Hotel at Pennsyl-vania Avenue completed a $20 million renovation. The hotel has 22 meeting rooms.

Maryland

In Prince George's County, Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center is racing toward an April 2008 opening. The 2,000-room Gaylord National will have 470,000 square feet of exhibition, event, and meeting space.

The 337-room Sheraton Inner Harbor, connected to the Baltimore Convention Center, completed a $1.7 million makeover of its guest rooms.

New Jersey

The Westin Jersey City at Washington Boulevard and 6th Street in the Newport mixed-use development is scheduled to open October 1, 2008, with 429 guest rooms, a conference center, a 10,000-square-foot ballroom, and more.

New York

The Plaza Hotel has put off until 2008 its grand reopening as a condo and hotel address. It has announced that Plaza Events, a consortium of two event management and F&B purveyors, has signed a 28-year lease to operate and manage the Plaza ballroom, pre-function space, and new meeting rooms starting in December. The meeting space will have seven rooms that can be reserved for 10 to 450 guests.

Pennsylvania

W Hotels will build a 250-room hotel with 95 adjacent condominium units in Center City Philadelphia at 12th and Arch streets, across from the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Anticipated to open in 2009, the hotel will include 11,000 square feet of meeting space.

The 581-room Loews Philadelphia Hotel is undergoing an $8.5 million renovation. The hotel has 42,000 square feet of function space.

Dolce International has taken the helm of a 346-room property, Dolce Valley Forge in King of Prussia. Plans are in motion for a $17 million makeover of the property, including 6,500 additional square feet of meeting space that will be completed in June 2008.

Construction of the 200,000-square-foot Lancaster County Convention Center is under way. Going up in tandem with the publicly owned center will be the Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square, a 300-room hotel.

Virginia

The 253-room Crowne Plaza Old Town Alexandria will undergo a multimillion-dollar renovation to guest rooms, restaurants, and 10,000 square feet of meeting space.

The new 236-room Westin Virginia Beach Town Center has 10,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space, including an 8,800-square-foot ballroom.

A convention hotel and a 2,000-seat theater are proposed additions to the site occupied by the Hampton Roads Convention Center, an Embassy Suites Hotel, and the Hampton Coliseum. Permitting is under way; hotel name and completion dates have not been announced.

Trip Tips

• Planning a meeting at Gaylord National once it opens in Maryland next April? Attendees can catch the Metrobus BWI Shuttle (Route B30 Express) at Greenbelt Metro Station for a ride from Prince George's County to BWI Airport. A one-way trip is only $3. The Express takes you to the lower level of the terminal.

• The Baltimore Museum of Art and the Walters Art Museum threw open their doors last October with year-round free admission for all. This is the first time in more than two decades that the museums will be free on an ongoing basis.

• Amish people are frequently encountered in Pennsylvania and Maryland. They are pleased to introduce visitors to their traditional foods, dress, and crafts in the shops where they sell these things, but not in informal meetings on the street.

Ask the CVB

THE DISTRICT
Washington Convention and Tourism Corp.
(202) 789-7023
www.washington.org

MARYLAND
Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association
(800) 343-3468
www.baltimore.org

NEW JERSEY
Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority
(888) 222-3683
www.meetinac.com

NEW YORK
NYC & Company
(212) 484-1218
www.nycvisit.com

PENNSYLVANIA
Greater Pittsburgh CVB
(800) 359-0758
www.visitpittsburgh.comPhiladelphia CVB
(800) 225-5745
www.pcvb.org

VIRGINIA
Alexandria CVA
(800) 388-9119
www.FunSide.com
Arlington Convention and Visitors Service
(800) 296-7996
www.arlingtonvirginiausa.com
Virginia Beach CVB
(757) 385-6652
www.vbfun.com/conventionCenter

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