Domestic travel trend aiding Vegas numbers

By Liz Benston

Thursday, June 19, 2003 | 11:02 a.m.

More tourists are continuing to travel domestically rather than take international trips, a trend that will help Las Vegas as it continues to recover from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks as well as the smaller slump after the war in Iraq, a tourism expert says.

Las Vegas ranked No. 5, behind Florida, California, New York and Tennessee, as one of the top domestic destinations tourists intend to visit this summer, according to a survey of travelers conducted by Yesawich, Pepperdine Brown & Russell, an advertising and public relations firm specializing in the travel and leisure industries.

The survey, released at the Las Vegas International Hotel & Restaurant Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center by Yesawich partner John Russell, polled the week of June 2 1,000 travelers who had Internet access.

Only 20 percent of leisure travelers said they were more likely to take a vacation at home this year compared to last, while 35 percent said they were more likely to take a vacation that was closer to home, the survey found.

Only 18 percent of leisure travelers said they were more concerned this summer than last about their personal safety and security. Among those who expressed concern, 57 percent said they would take fewer international trips and 50 percent said they would drive rather than fly as a result. Only 5 percent said they would cancel a domestic vacation.

Also, 54 percent said they were less likely to take a sightseeing trip outside the United States this summer compared to 2002. About 13 percent said they were planning to take a summer vacation outside the country.

Computer technology, including the Internet, is helping customers book trips more easily and is also aiding resorts in their ability to fill rooms, conference panelists said.

Hilton Hotels Corp. has spent millions of dollars in recent years on technology such as a system linking properties across its eight hotel brands to a single customer database, said Dieter Huckestein, president of hotel operations at Hilton. By the end of this year, Hilton employees at any property in the system will be able to access personalized customer profiles that will allow hotel employees to better serve guests, he said.

Other systems let Hilton managers instantly access productivity information on individual properties, allowing those properties to more quickly adjust to market conditions and better sell rooms, Huckestein said.

"We are learning from the airlines and the gaming industry" about how to fill rooms during tough economic times, he said.

About 85 percent of the company's online bookings come from Hilton's own website, he said.

The site creates loyal customers by drawing them with extra frequent-traveler points when they book online, he said.

The Internet is the "wave of the future," helping MGM MIRAGE fill its rooms not only with tourists but with convention-goers and other groups, said Felix Rappaport, president and chief operating officer of New York-New York.

Across MGM MIRAGE properties, hotel room bookings over the Internet have increased by about 40 percent from 2001 to 2002 -- a trend that has helped the company save on advertising and reservation-taking costs, Rappaport said.

Internet bookings also are strong in other areas, he said.

MGM MIRAGE has historically sold a significant percentage of publicly available tickets to its popular Cirque du Soleil shows at Bellagio and Treasure Island over the Internet, he said. The majority of tickets are still set aside for MGM MIRAGE guests due to customer demand, he added.

Zumanity, a third Cirque du Soleil show expected to debut at New York-New York in August, has been selling about 50 percent of its available tickets over the Internet.

The company also has experimented by selling tickets on the Internet that customers can print out at home, similar to an online movie ticket retailer, he said.

Consumers are using the Internet in record numbers to book trips, Russell said.

In the survey, 72 percent of Internet-connected travelers said they were planning to use the Internet to obtain information to plan their summer vacations.