Delegation from Seoul, South Korea One of Many Groups Coming to Pittsburgh to Conduct Benchmark Visits in 2010

The Pittsburgh Summit 2009 is now a part of history, but it continues to ignite interest in the Greater Pittsburgh region. No fewer than seven Chambers of Commerce from across the United States have scheduled benchmarking visits to Pittsburgh this year, a number of them choosing to visit because of the global attention the region received as a result of the summit, according to the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce.

Advance teams from Cincinnati, OH and Baton Rouge, LA arrived in town this week for preliminary visits, along with yet another delegation from Korea, this time from the Seoul Metropolitan Government, which is preparing to host the Group of 20 in November.

"Pittsburgh is always a popular destination for regions across the country interested in benchmarking best practices, but the level of interest this year is unprecedented," said Chamber President Barbara McNees. "The enormous publicity the region received due to the G-20 summit has sparked widespread interest in our region’s story of economic, environmental and quality of life transformation."

The visiting chambers will be examining the region's transformation to a diverse economy driven by innovation, with an emphasis on education, transportation, riverfront development, brownfield reclamation, entrepreneurship, and the role of arts and culture in economic development. Each of the chambers will bring dozens of public and private sector leaders from their communities.

The city visits begin in April with the arrival of a delegation from Kansas City, MO. Later the same month the Nashville, TN Chamber will arrive. The Lexington and Louisville, KY chambers are expected to bring a group numbering several hundred in May, followed by visitors from Dubuque, IA. The Mobile and Cincinnati chambers will be here during separate visits in June, and the full Baton Rouge delegation will arrive in September.

The Greater Pittsburgh Chamber is an affiliate of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, which co-chaired The Pittsburgh G-20 Partnership with Allegheny County, the City of Pittsburgh, and VisitPittsburgh. With the support of about 100 for profit and not-for-profit organizations, including GlobalPittsburgh, the Partnership welcomed leaders from the G-20 countries in September 2009 and more than 3,000 journalists from around the world.

Resulting news coverage featured Pittsburgh’s transformation story in almost 7,000 print, broadcast, and online stories in the United States alone.