John Locher / AP
In this Jan. 7, 2020, file photo, crowds enter the convention center on the first day of the CES tech show, in Las Vegas.
Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021 | 2 a.m.
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The pandemic savaged Las Vegas’ convention industry, but conventions might be saved by an unlikely force: Zoom fatigue.
A survey of convention visitors who came to Las Vegas during the 15 months prior to the pandemic showed that the majority are feeling burned out about online meetings and are ready to get back to face-to-face interactions. Unveiled last week by Steve Hill, the director of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the survey showed that 91% of respondents were feeling Zoom fatigue and 77% were eager to return to doing in-person business.
That certainly stands to reason: After months of being cooped up at home and connecting with each other through computer screens, plenty of us are ready to get back to some semblance of normal.
It’s encouraging to know that convention organizers and visitors feel the same way. With the ongoing rollout of coronavirus vaccinations, it’s a sign that there’s a bright light at the end of the tunnel.
“Our brand is still who we are: We are the place that you can come to escape, and there’s plenty to come escape from now. We bring excitement, we bring freedom, and people miss that,” Hill said during the Vegas Chamber’s annual Preview meeting last week. “But in the meantime, it’s a balance between what Vegas has to offer, as well as the health and safety precautions that we’re taking.”
Hill was right. Although the vaccinations are paving the way for a gradual reduction in the need for coronavirus protections, we can’t ease off the precautions too quickly in the name of a sharp turnaround.
One key to the strength of our recovery will be our ability to make people feel they can come here safely. Not only will it keep them coming back, but it will encourage others to visit Las Vegas through word-of-mouth and social media promotion.
And with other cities increasingly competing with Las Vegas for convention traffic — Orlando, Phoenix, San Diego and more — it’s to our advantage to maintain appropriate protections. Impressing our convention organizers with our safety guidelines will be a calling card for Las Vegas.
Tourism officials and business leaders are hoping that people will begin feeling more comfortable about traveling by the middle of this year, and that our recovery can start picking up steam. Lots of eyes are on the World of Concrete gathering in June, which remains scheduled as an in-person show. That event, the first large-scale trade show planned for the Las Vegas Convention Center’s new West Hall, would bring an estimated 50,000 attendees to the city if it can be held as planned with proper coronavirus precautions in place.
Fingers crossed. In the meantime, let’s maintain the balancing act that Hill described between reopening and keeping up our defenses. It’s the key to a healthy comeback for Las Vegas — in both the literal and economic senses.
