If you are of a certain vintage, the ghosts of Las Vegas past can shimmer before the eyes. Smog cocktails at the Flamingo, Evel Knievel flying over the fountain at Caesars Palace, Elvis marrying Priscilla at the Aladdin, the Horse-Around Bar at Circus Circus. “Sin City,” however, has little time for nostalgia.
“Las Vegas isn’t concerned with what we were yesterday or with what we are today,” once observed the late Hal Rothman, chair of UNLV’s History Department, tourism expert and foremost authority on all things Vegas. “It’s tomorrow that entices us.”
In 2007, just before the recession hit, Meetings Focus declared “Viva Las Changes” in heralding “another era of transformation sweeping Las Vegas.” Today, another wave of change is under way that is not just enticing, but spellbinding.
“Las Vegas is known for continually reinventing itself to provide the best possible experience for visitors,” says Kevin Bagger, senior director of marketing for the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority (LVCVA). “Since 2007, Las Vegas has added more than 17,000 rooms to its inventory and reinvested more than $10 billion in the travel and tourism industry, adding new restaurants, museums, remodeled meeting space and a streamlined experience at McCarran International Airport with the addition of Terminal 3.”
For the past several years, the conversation in Vegas has been about shuttered hotels, halted projects and economic rut. With a freshly shuffled deck, however, the “Entertainment Capital of the World,” which set a new record by attracting nearly 40 million visitors last year, has its mojo back big time.
“This is an exciting time as the confidence in the Las Vegas brand continues to build with new projects and ongoing reinvestment,” says LVCVA President and CEO Rossi Ralenkotter. “Billions of dollars are being invested in unique experiences and world-class facilities and amenities, showing why Las Vegas continues to be the premier leisure and business destination.”
Under way with a slate of hotel developments and enhancements (see sidebar, page 8), a bold reinvention of the downtown area (see story, page 10) and plans for dynamic new global initiatives, Las Vegas is on the verge of a transformation as visionary as the creation of this unlikely desert mecca in 1905. PageBreak
Going Global
After generating $6.7 billion in total economic impact last year, the meetings and conventions outlook in Vegas is bullish, to put it mildly.
“Las Vegas hosted nearly 22,000 events in 2012, the highest total in the last five years,” reports Chris Meyer, vice president of sales for the LVCVA. “MINExpo, MAGIC, SEMA and other shows have recently seen record attendance, with International CES 2013 experiencing its largest ever trade show, covering more than 1.8 million square feet.”
Outpacing Orlando and Chicago combined, Vegas recorded its 19th straight year as America’s leading trade show destination in 2012, hosting 53 of the nation’s largest shows. Far from sitting back and counting its winnings, however, Vegas is leveraging the power of its world-renowned brand to surge ahead.
“Cities all around the world are vying for our business, and over the past five years, many have invested in major enhancements or expansions to their facilities,” Meyer says. “To ensure that Las Vegas remains the No. 1 destination in the meetings and conventions industry, it is crucial that we take the necessary steps to innovate and provide our clients with an unparalleled customer experience.”
Never dreaming small, Vegas is going global. Announced in February, the Las Vegas Global Business District is a new convention campus designed to transform the city into an international business destination.
“Incorporating major renovations of the Las Vegas Convention Center and the creation of a centralized transportation hub that will improve connectivity in the resort corridor, the overarching vision is to launch Las Vegas 25 years ahead of the competition,” Meyer says.
The phased project, estimated at around $2.5 billion, will include the first major expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center in more than a decade, adding exhibit, meeting and general session space that will allow the facility to host multiple shows that it could not previously accommodate. PageBreak
“The center was named as an official World Trade Center site in 2010,” says Michael Goldsmith, LVCVA’s vice president of international sales. “With our goal of increasing international visitation by 30 percent over the next decade, this designation will help to entice travelers by providing a place to do business while in the U.S. and the ability to have a physical presence at multiple conventions.”
To optimize its global market share, the Vegas strategic plan also incorporates innovative approaches such as geo-cloning and co-location.
“As we look to the future, we continue to see meetings and conventions look for ways to operate more efficiently with their time, space and environmental responsibility and to achieve the goals and objectives set for their event,” says Amy Riley, LVCVA’s senior director of convention sales. “Event organizers and exhibitors have looked to the trend of co-location to maximize attendance at multiple industry shows, and with three of the largest convention spaces in the country within a few miles of each other, Las Vegas is the perfect destination to make that happen.”
Some of the enhancements of the Las Vegas Global Business District, like greater connectivity between the facilities, will also add to the ease and flexibility for future co-located shows.
“We have also seen an increase in popularity of geo-cloning,” Riley says, citing the successful example of IMEX America. “This IMEX Frankfurt spin-off attracts a different set of buyers, and the draw of Las Vegas truly adds to the enticement to attend.”
After attracting 4.9 million convention delegates last year, projections call for as many as 7 million over the next 10 years.
Already enticing today, the Vegas of tomorrow is shaping up as the model of the global meetings destination.
“Las Vegas is known for defining moments that change the hospitality industry, and I truly believe the Global Business District will be the next defining moment,” Ralenkotter says. “This is more than a project; this is a vision that will launch Las Vegas forward ahead of the competition for decades to come.”
