"The American Academy of Religion and Society of BiblicalLiterature met in Denver on Nov. 17 to 20 and set a recordattendance of more than 8,000," Dilbeck notes. "This was justslightly below their original projection. We have found this to beconsistent with all the other conventions that have met in Denversince Sept. 11."

Dilbeck acknowledges some cities have seen reduced attendance atconventions since Sept. 11, but he believes that will not be thecase in here next year. "We have a lot going for us," Dilbeck says."Our airport is sixth busiest in the country so there are a lot ofdirect flights and a lot of good fares right now. We're in thecenter of the country and we are perceived as being very safe. Andwe're Denver. We are regarded as a very exciting and desirable cityto visit. A lot of convention delegates have never been here beforeand have been looking forward to coming. The evidence is showing usthat they are not going to cancel their plans.