LVCVA leaders and staff deserve high praise

By Don Welsh, president and CEO of Destination Marketing Association International

Saturday, April 15, 2017 | 2 a.m.

During my more than 35 years in the travel and tourism industry, I have had the privilege of leading three tourism bureaus — Seattle, Indianapolis and most recently, Chicago. In each of these cities, I competed against Las Vegas for the business, convention and leisure customer, and more often than not lost market share to the LVCVA’s Rossi Ralenkotter and his team.

Securing new and returning visitors is no different than any other industry segment. Booking business is not easy, and it comes with a cost.

I worked for MGM from 1999 to 2000, and during that time Las Vegas was beginning to shift from gaming and casinos toward the lucrative meetings and convention business. As a result, Las Vegas stripped Chicago’s title for the top trade show destination — almost overnight. This didn’t happen by coincidence. Rossi had the support and commitment from an engaged board of directors, a committed visitor industry and civic leadership. Las Vegas, as a business and leisure destination, has literally been transformed under Rossi’s leadership.

The LVCVA is unlike any other tourism bureau in the world. Few, if any, destination organizations have the grueling responsibility of running a tourism bureau and a multimillion square foot convention facility, while branding a destination and helping guide its development, and ultimately deliver on a globally recognized brand that Las Vegas has become.

I would like to specifically note that while spend per visitor is one data point of many to look at, like most simple statistics it is not the best. This is particularly true when used on its own. Every destination has unique situations that make simple comparisons difficult. This is why DMAI’s Event Impact Calculator is destination-specific, taking into account the local economy, costs and taxes. Other factors also can affect the metric, such as number of direct flights, airport capacity and the number of people who live within a drive radius.

Finally, Las Vegas has the singularly unique situation of having three major convention centers, creating the single largest amount of convention and meeting space in the country. That, combined with an inventory of hotel rooms that dwarfs other destinations, creates a demand that drives aggressive marketing and sales spending. On any given date, other destinations are working to find one major citywide event. Las Vegas is working to finding three, four or five.

Without question, Las Vegas is the industry leader — every destination around the world strives to match its success. Make no mistake, this impact is a direct result of Rossi’s leadership and his team of professionals at the LVCVA.