Philadelphia Multicultural Affairs Congress History & Milestones
1987Minority Advisory Council (MAC) is formed as a division of the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau (PCVB).
1988
MAC commissions the city's first study of the minority meetings and conventions market.
1989
MAC sponsors addendum to Pennsylvania Convention Center lease providing 10 years of funding for training and education programs. The PCVB sees 191.7% increase in multicultural meeting and convention bookings over 1988.
1990
U.S. Department of Commerce, Travel and Tourism Administration designates Philadelphia No. 1 city for minority tourism.
1993
MAC celebrates $100 million mark reached in meetings and conventions business booked since the inception of the organization.
1994
MAC hosts its first Hospitality, Career and Education Fair for high school and college students.
MAC changes the name of the organization to Multicultural Affairs Congress to reflect its new goals and focus.
1995
U.S. Department of Commerce once again cites Philadelphia as a model city for multicultural tourism.
MAC celebrates $300 million mark reached in visitor and delegate spending from the conventions, meetings and tourism markets.
1998
Philadelphia is named one of the top ten cities for Black families and one of the top ten cities for Hispanic travelers.
1999
The National Council of La Raza, the nation?s largest Hispanic organization, brings their annual convention to Philadelphia, enhancing Philadelphia's standing as a destination for Hispanic travelers, meetings and conventions.
MAC releases its first ever-comprehensive multicultural visitors guide, "Share the Heritage Guide" a reference directory to the multicultural historical attractions in Philadelphia.
2000
MAC announces that two of the most sought after organizations 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 unite 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 ecomonic 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 premieres the first-ever flash introduction page for www.PhiladelphiaMAC.org and celebrates 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 partners 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 produces its first-ever Hispanic focused attendee brochure, "Hispanic Guide to Philadelphia" with Impacto Latin Newspaper
2006
The Washington Post names Philadelphia as one of the "Top 10 Places to Hold Family Reunions".
Philadelphia welcomes the 35th National Assembly of the Links Incorporated, the 48th National Convention of Delta Sigma Theta Incorporated and the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce's 27th annual convention totaling nearly 25,000 attendees, resulting in an overall economic impact of nearly $30 million.
2007
MAC celebrates its 20th anniversary since its inception, as a division of the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Philadelphia hosts the 127th annual session of the National Baptist Convention, USA Inc. bringing 30,000 attendees representing more than $39 million in economic impact to the region.
MAC releases its 2nd edition of its comprehensive multicultural visitors guide, the Share the Heritage Guide
