Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

Events industry will need help

Exhibitions and events are an integral part of Nevada’s economy. Per the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development, tourism, entertainment and gaming accounted for 433,405 statewide jobs in 2019, 117% above the national average.

The tourism industry remains the biggest driver of economic activity in the region, with direct visitor spending in 2018 estimated at $34.5 billion, according to Applied Analysis. The Southern Nevada tourism industry is estimated to directly employ 234,000 workers, equating to 23.9% of the region’s total workforce and 26.7% of private-sector employment in 2018.

According to economist Allen Shaw, exhibitions and events contributed more than $100 billion to the nation’s GDP in 2019. Shaw has projected an economic loss in the U.S. of upwards of $22 billion due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its ripple effects on the economy.

The unprecedented public health crisis we’re facing has ground business meetings and events to a halt and put Nevadans who rely on spending from these events in peril.

Countless organizations exist to facilitate the business of face-to-face interactions in order to conduct business, and these events fuel the local economy, along with millions of jobs nationwide. The exhibitions industry and the businesses that support these events contribute so much to our community, and we cannot weather this storm on our own.

Congress must act to ensure the events industry and its more than 40,000 workers can sustain themselves through this painful economic period.

The writer is a member of Nevada’s Commission on Tourism.