CLEVELAND (July 10, 2025) – Destination Cleveland announced today the city’s selection as host of the 2028 National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals Annual Conference. The conference is the largest annual gathering for Black meeting professionals. Among those who attend the event are planners and association leaders charged with selecting destinations for their own organization’s meetings and events.
“It’s an honor to be selected as the host city for the 2028 National Coalition of Black Meetings Professionals Conference,” said David Gilbert, president and CEO of Destination Cleveland. “This is another big win for Cleveland. We can showcase the city as a meetings host to key decision makers who have significant buying power and influence on booking future business in Cleveland. We’re looking forward to showing this group what makes Cleveland stand out – from our world-class meetings and conventions facilities to our diversity, creativity and contagious passion.”
The National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals (NCBMP) 2028 Annual Conference will bring an estimated 550 attendees to Cleveland, Nov. 29-Dec. 2, 2028. Attendees will participate in educational seminars, networking events and special programming throughout the conference.
“Cleveland is a diverse and welcoming city. Our community embraces visitors like no other – making every visitor feel like one of us,” said Mayor Justin M. Bibb. “And we know that seeing is believing when it comes to choosing Cleveland. I’m confident that NCBMP’s influential attendees will want to bring their events here after experiencing all that our city has to offer.”
“Our guiding principle is, ‘We do business with our friends,’” said NCBMP CEO Jason Dunn. “Friendship is the foundation of our organization. As an Ohio native, I understand how one convention can change the bottom line of a small business. We believe tourism has the power to uplift communities. While many cities boast hotels, convention centers and upscale dining, few offer true authenticity and a genuine sense of welcome. That’s why we’ve chosen to bring our member organizations whose combined economic impact totals $50 billion to Cleveland.”
"We at NCBMP are thrilled to bring our 2028 national conference to a city that truly values and embraces diversity," said Kevin Richardson, Chairman of the NCBMP Board. "Our organization has consistently aligned with cities that share our core values, and Cleveland continues to show a strong commitment to recognizing the economic power of diverse communities.”
The city’s selection as NCBMP’s 2028 host underscores Cleveland’s continued growing appeal as a meetings and conventions host. In 2025, Destination Cleveland will welcome more than 300 meetings and conventions. Destination Cleveland’s sales team is currently booking as far as 2031.
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ABOUT NCBMP: The National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals (NCBMP), founded in 1983, is a non-profit organization dedicated primarily to the training needs of Black meeting professionals and all humans who support excellence. NCBMP is committed to providing professional development, leadership training and enhancing the meetings, conferences and conventions managed by our members.
ABOUT DESTINATION CLEVELAND: Destination Cleveland is Cleveland’s destination marketing and management organization. The private, non-profit organization’s mission is to stimulate economic growth by attracting people and connecting them to experiences that illustrate Cleveland’s diversity, creativity and contagious passion. In 2023, visitation increased for the third straight year to 18.34 million visits. For more information, visit
www.thisiscleveland.com.