New board members and leaders were sworn in as the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) revealed a new marketing plan during the board’s monthly meeting Jan. 8 at the Cashman Center.
Tom Collins and Larry Weekly swore oaths of office to resume their prior seats as LVCVA board members, and the board chose its new leaders for the next two years. Collins is the chair and Weekly the vice chair of the LVCVA board. Scott Nielson is the new board secretary while Tom Jenkin is the new treasurer. Board leadership positions are determined during January of each odd-numbered year.
While a new board of directors has been named, the LVCVA also gave tacit approval to a new marketing plan to promote Las Vegas to tourists and others. Created by Las Vegas-based marketing and public relations firm R&R Partners, the marketing plan uses the existing www.LasVegas.com Website to not only promote Las Vegas as a destination but also to enable potential visitors to plan and book their entire trip from the same site.
“This is one of the most significant tactics we’ve employed,” said William Vassiliadis, CEO, R&R Partners. “A lot of people know Las Vegas, but not all of it. We need to allow our potential travelers to plan their trips from home.”
Because most people do their travel-planning online, the site will help them to better plan their trips when they want to come to Las Vegas and do more than gamble. The LasVegas.com Website is the LVCVA’s official tourism site and has been around for years to help promote Las Vegas tourism. Until now, visitors had to go to other sites to actually book their trips and entertainment options.
“Transparency is important. People needing to know exactly what they are getting is very, very important,” said Vassiliadis.
And targeting the right group of people with the proper message should boost tourism. For Las Vegas, that group would be those who hold sway over others in their personal and professional lives.
“Persuaders – this is the group we need if we want to increase our tourism,” said Vassiliadis. “They are willing to pay for the experience but want to know they get what they pay for.”
The revamped Website makes it much easier for people to plan their trips to Las Vegas. Now, people can log on to LasVegas.com and book their rooms, entertainment, meals and plan their trips in one stop. And a series of 60- and 30-second television ads featuring an insurance-selling white, middle-aged male character named “Las Vegas.com” already have been launched in key markets to drive traffic to the tourism-based Website.
While Las Vegas has one of the best convention centers and world-class entertainment to draw more visitors, it also has something no other tourism-based destination has – its own host committee to help keep visitors entertained and coming back year after year.
Unofficially leading the Las Vegas Host Committee is former Mayor Oscar Goodman, who recently attended several tourism-based conventions to promote Las Vegas as a world-class destination for tourism and large events, such as tradeshows and conventions.
“No matter where you go, every city and every nation has Las Vegas as a target,” Goodman recently told the LVCVA. “We need to step up our game.”
To help the city improve its game, Goodman and other volunteer “ambassadors” will meet with business and organizational leaders as well as high-profile visitors to help promote Las Vegas through traditional networking and other events. As “ambassadors,” they will help ensure important visitors see more than just gaming tables and get a much better idea of all that Las Vegas and the surrounding area has to offer its national and international visitors.
While “ambassadors” like Goodman are not paid for their services, hundreds of volunteers have signed up to help promote Las Vegas and ensure those who visit this year will want to come back next year and many more. Those interested in learning more about the Host Committee and possibly volunteering to be a host ambassador can visit the site at www.lvcva.com/what-we-do/advocacy-and-outreach/host-committee/.
