The Society for Conservation Biology held their 21st annual conference in Port Elizabeth during July 2007. This was the first SCB conference hosted on the African continent. Over 1500 conservation professionals and students from throughout the world were brought together by the SCB annual meeting. The local organizing committee was interested in the economic impacts associated with the conference and approached the NMMU Economics Department to conduct an economic impact assessment of the conference. The Economics Department invited the researcher to undertake this study towards obtaining an MCom degree in Economics. The economic impact of conferences stems from two sources, namely: expenditure by delegates (the demand-side) and the expenditure by conference organizers (the supply-side). The study focused on the economic impacts of the conference for the Eastern Cape. The conference expenditure produced an increase in demand in the Eastern Cape. Only new expenditure originating from outside the Eastern Cape were considered. An increase in the demand for one industry’s output will create additional demand for the outputs of its supplying industries, because industries are connected through forward and backward linkages. These inter-industry linkages produce a multiplier effect. The initial direct conference expenditure created secondary impacts. The latter were indirect and induced expenditures. In addition to secondary impacts, the SCB conference produced spill-over impacts. The spill-over impacts of the conference were noted (but not quantified). The expenditure by delegates was determined by means of a delegate expenditure questionnaire conducted during the conference. The expenditure by the conference organizers was determined in consultation with the organizers, using their financial statements. The multiplier impacts were estimated by means of an input-output (IO) analysis, using a Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) of the Eastern Cape as the underlying database. These multipliers (Type 1 and 2 multipliers) were estimated using open and closed multiplier models. It was deduced that the 2007 SCB conference created a significant and positive net economic impact in the Eastern Cape. The total direct cash injection of the conference was R12.141 million. Using a Type 1 multiplier this direct stimulus is estimated to have caused an extra R16.502 million increase in gross output. Using a Type 2 multiplier this direct stimulus was estimated to have caused a R19.884 million increase in gross output. The total cash injection of the conference contributed R6.093 million to GVA in terms of a Type 1 multiplier and a R7.344 million increase in GVA in terms of a Type 2 multiplier. Household incomes in the Eastern Cape were increased by R3.384 million. These results confirm that the hosting of major events and conferences is indeed a tool for promoting regional economic development.