News was similar regarding the attacks’ impact on meetings business in other cities. In Philadelphia, four conventions scheduled to before the end of September were directly affected. According to the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau, Primavera systems, scheduled for Sept. 13-15, cancelled outright; National Rural Water (Sept. 15-20) voted to go on with its event, but cancelled because attendees could not fly in due to the air-travel shutdown; the Corporate Council on Africa (Sept. 16-20) posponed its U.S.-Africa Summit to Oct. 30; and Bentley Systems (Sept. 21-28) tentatively rescheduled for June 2002.

The bureau reported that remaining 2001 events were holding to their schedules, as were all events scheduled for 2002—including 27 citywide conventions.

In Orlando, where Disney World was immediately shut down when news of the attacks reached Florida, there was "a wave of cancellations," according to Orlando Convention and Visitors Bureau President William Peeper.

"The encouraging thing is that more than 60 percent of the groups who cancelled are now in discussions about rebooking—obviously, we’re very pleased about this," Peeper said. "We’re also pleased by some early indicators that attendance may be finding its way back. It’s easy for us to get trapped in protracted doldrums—it’s and understandable and appropriate mindset—but there are positive out there. I don’t want to sound insensitive—I’ve shed more than a few tears over this thing—but I hope we as a country don’t become hostages to a tragedy that’s impacted us all so enormously. We’ve got to get back to the ‘new normal,’ whatever that might be."