LAS VEGAS – It’s an expensive proposition putting heads in beds of 150,000 hotel rooms in Las Vegas, something just shy of $3 million that Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) spends on exhibition booths at eight major tourism and travel tradeshows a year. Floor space is extra.
The tourism agency on Sept. 8 approved $785,000 for Conex Exhibition Services to design and build a booth for IMEX America, Oct. 13-15, at Mandalay Bay Convention Center, and for WTM London, Nov. 3-5.
Conex, based in Florida, has been fed the lion’s share of LVCVA exhibit booth contracts. The other beneficiary of the authority’s enormous sales and marketing budget is Ice Agency of England.
“We would be crazy not to go to these shows,” LVCVA President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Hill said following the board’s regular meeting. “This is where Las Vegas group and event customers are. It is the most efficient money we spend from a sales perspective. We have hundreds of appointments on the books when we go.”
LVCVA Chief Sales Officer Vanessa Claspill prefaced her request for approval by presenting the board with a chart listing the size and cost of the booths, who got the contract, and photographs from several shows.
It’s important for Las Vegas to have a “strong presence” at these shows, to represent the destination and cultivate client relationships. “Our footprint is pretty consistent compared with other destinations,” she said.
Booth size depends on the number of “partners” that share the cost, including MGM Resorts, Caesars Entertainment, Venetian and Palazzo, Wynn Las Vegas, Resorts World and Fontainebleau. Booth sizes could be reconsidered for a couple shows, Claspill noted.
LVCVA’s largest investment, $900,000, is with Conex for a 75-foot-by-40-foot booth at IMEX America, an international travel and tourism tradeshow held at Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.
IMEX brings together travel buyers and meeting planners from corporate, association and third-party markets. The 2025 show set an attendance record at 17,600, including some 6,100 buyers. LVCVA’s booth will be the central hub for the destination on the tradeshow floor, shared by 30 tourism-related businesses.
Rounding out the top five exhibit booths are WTM London (Conex, 40×40, $460,000); IPW (Conex, 20×50, $355,000); IAEE Expo! (Ice, 30×20, $330,000); and Routes World (Conex, 33×39, $230,000).
While the Las Vegas booth was hyped as “sustainable” when the contract was awarded to Conex, few components are reusable and it’s quite a challenge transporting cargo from one continent to another, explains Fletch Brunelle, LVCVA vice president of marketing.
“When you look at the different locations, Routes World in Hong Kong, and transferring from Hong Kong to (IMEX) Frankfurt, that’s not sustainable,” Brunelle said.
AUSTRALIAN OUTREACH
The board approved a one-year, $475,000 contract with GTI Tourism in Australia for international tourism promotion, with a two-year option at $475,000 and $500,000, for a total of $1.45 million. Australia has historically ranked as the second-largest international market for Las Vegas, behind United Kingdom, sending 275,000 visitors in 2025. GTI represented LVCVA from 2014 to 2020 for public relations and marketing services on a project basis.
MONORAIL ADVERTISING
Intersection Media was selected for advertising, sponsorship and naming rights for the Las Vegas Monorail and Las Vegas Loop at the convention center for a three-year term. The revenue agreement is estimated to generate $4.5 million this fiscal year. LVCVA collects 60 percent of the advertising revenue, according to the agreement.
CFP CHAMPIONSHIP
Rich Clark, executive director of CFP (College Football Playoff), spoke to the board about the grandeur of the championship game to be played Jan. 25 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. He focused on three key aspects of organizing the event: integrity, humility and excellence. The game will be supported by fan-friendly events at various venues, including a music festival. Clark also mentioned a donation from the CFP Foundation to the Clark County School District.
