Hospitality industry confab picks area for major late summer event — in person

TAMPA — Connect, a prominent national hospitality industry marketing company, will hold its annual Connect Marketplace trade show at the Tampa Convention Center later this year — in person. 

The event, scheduled for Aug. 30 through Sept. 1, is expected to provide a major economic boost to downtown Tampa hotels and the region’s hospitality industry as a whole. The Marketplace, Connect’s largest event of the year, will bring together more than 1,500 meeting planners with industry vendors, suppliers and properties and provides premium programming with keynote speakers and other vital information, according to a statement.