Industry works to bring Mexican tourists to LV

Twelve Mexican tour wholesalers will be in Las Vegas next month to discuss developing packages to deliver visitors to Southern Nevada and Las Vegans to Mexico.

Rafael "Ray" Vega, a member of state Commission on Economic Development, finalized the visit last week and said representatives of the city's resorts would be invited to make presentations to the wholesalers to explain what their properties offer to tourists.

Vega met with Luis Trevino, president of Allegro Airlines, Mexico's leading air charter company. He met Trevino earlier this month while on Gov. Bob Miller's tourism-building mission to Latin America.

Allegro currently operates charters between Las Vegas and Mexico City and Monterrey. Following Miller's visit, the company announced it is investigating additional charters from Leon and Guadalajara. An estimated 104,000 Mexicans visited Las Vegas last year.

The tour operators sell tickets for AeroMexico and Mexicana Airlines in addition to Allegro. Those airlines also have Las Vegas charters.

Vega said the wholesalers will be at the Luxor hotel-casino Sept. 10-12. In addition to hearing resort pitches, the tour operators are expected to meet with representatives of Las Vegas' 200,000 Hispanic residents.

The opening of new resorts in Southern Nevada would provide thousands of new jobs resulting in more two-income families that should be able to afford trips to Mexico to learn about their Hispanic heritage, Vega said.

Miller said he hopes to make Las Vegas a port of entry for Mexican visitors to the United States by adding nonstop flights.

"Once we establish nonstop service from Mexico," Miller said, "it will demonstrate to Brazil, Argentina and other South American countries that the Las Vegas market is popular and economically attractive."

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