Pictured above: LVCVA staff and the Board of Directors gather to recognize Global Meetings Industry Day 2018. Photo Credit: Mark Damon/Las Vegas News Bureau
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority joined leaders from across the Las Vegas meeting and convention industry including Caesars Entertainment, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, MGM Resorts International, The Venetian and The Palazzo and Wynn Las Vegas to celebrate Global Meetings Industry Day on April 12.
The day is especially important for Las Vegas as the meetings, conventions and trade show industry has a significant impact on the local economy supporting 65,000 jobs and generating more than $9.3 billion in economic impact. The destination recorded an all-time high for convention visitation in 2017, welcoming 6.6 million business travelers.
“In Las Vegas, business travel is a critical component of our overall visitation mix, driving our economy and providing critical jobs for those who call southern Nevada home,” says Rossi Ralenkotter, CEO of the LVCVA. “The impact of the meeting and convention industry is astounding and we celebrate the vision of events like GMID for encouraging advocacy, education and the need to support initiatives that move us forward.”
The LVCVA and industry partners recognized the importance of the meetings industry on GMID observance day and used the message of the industry to encourage the opportunity to evolve messaging surrounding the event to ‘Global Meetings IMPACT Day.’ The shift in verbiage is intended to amplify the valuable mission and purpose of the event which intends to educate the public about the wide-reaching positive impact face-to-face meetings have on global economies and driving business forward.
The Las Vegas meetings industry supported the “Impact” message with several presentations on the various impacts the industry can and does have at the destination’s observance. On April 12, nearly 200 meetings industry leaders and professionals gathered at The Venetian Theater inside The Venetian Las Vegas for presentations emphasizing the impact of meetings and conventions for economic growth. Topics of discussion included recent succesess and upcoming trends in the meeting and convention industry.
The event kicked off with an insightful presentation from Paul Van Deventer of Meeting Professionals International outlining important trends in the meetings landscape. Additional presenters and topics included:
• Health & Wellness in meetings – Mike Dominguez, MGM Resorts International SVP and Chief Sales Officer
• Corporate Social Responsibility – Lisa Messina, Caesars Entertainment VP of Sales
• Green Initiatives/ Solar Projects – Erik Hansen, Wynn Las Vegas Director of Energy Procurement
• Technology – Mamie Peers, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas VP of Digital Marketing
• Innovation/Entertainment – Chandra Allison, Sands Corporation SVP of Sales
• The impact of meetings for local non-profit organizations – Brian Burton, Three Square Food Bank President & CEO; Edyta Jankowski, Opportunity Village VP of Sales
Following the presentations, event guests were invited to explore an interactive art-gallery style exhibit showcasing major advancements and developments throughout the destination.
GMID is an observance launched by the Meetings Mean Business Coalition in an effort to showcase the real impact that business meetings, conferences, conventions, incentive travel, trade shows and exhibitions have on people, business and communities. Meetings Mean Business Coalition, an extension of U.S. Travel, provides resources to promote and defend the value of business meetings and travel on our economy. U.S. Travel continues to be a leading voice in reminding policymakers of the value of government meetings and travel under all fiscal environments.
With more than $15 billion worth of investment and development projects announced or in the works throughout the destination, including the Las Vegas Convention Center District Project and the addition of new meeting and convention space across the destination, Las Vegas is well positioned to maintain it’s position as North America’s No. 1 trade show destination for decades to come.
Las Vegas boasts more than 11 million square feet of meeting space in addition to a wide array of event, dining and entertainment venues that are also used for group business. Trade Show News Network recently recognized Las Vegas as the No. 1 trade show destination in the country for the 24th consecutive year after hosting 47 of the largest trade shows in North America.
Las Vegas hosts nearly 22,000 meetings and conventions annually. One reason Las Vegas is a top choice year after year, is that there is always something new to see and experience. Our resort and business partners continually invest in improvements to keep the destination fresh and appealing to business travelers including the Monte Carlo Hotel becoming Park MGM, the Cosmopolitan opening a new convention center space, and so much more. Wynn Las Vegas will debut a state-of-the-art luxury meetings and conventions development in March 2020 that is unlike anything else in Las Vegas. The new 280,000 square foot complex is conceived as an oasis in the middle of the desert on repurposed land that was previously the Wynn golf course.
