Las Vegas Hits Jackpot With Tourism Recovery Efforts
Who knew?
Who knew that those crazy masons and finishers and form setters and tradesmen and craftsmen would lead the recovery of the greatest tourist destination in the world?
Who knew that the World of Concrete Convention this week would spark the recovery of Las Vegas as the first big event to take place in more than a year in the country, much less in the state of Nevada?
But they’re there, in full force.
And so are the tourists.
And so are the big names or, at the very least, they’re coming – Carrie Underwood, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan are among the entertainers all set to take residencies later this year at the new Resorts World hotel and casino.
Now, based on previous World of Concrete conventions, some 60,000 people who are intrigued by building blocks are descending on Sin City.
Las Vegas is back!
Advertising campaigns and television shows and movies lead us to believe that it’s cool and trendy to say “Let’s go to Vegas for the weekend!” It is, of course, but Las Vegas is heavily reliant on convention business rather than just a whim, hence the emphasis on how important World of Concrete is.
Las Vegas casinos moved to 100 percent capacity on June 1, opening the whole town up without having to continue social distancing on the gaming floor, although many properties still are demanding face masks and social distancing at restaurants and the pool.
Vegas being Vegas, the city is certainly not dipping its toe into the shallow end in terms of events. Casinos on The Strip are planning a variety of July 4th fireworks that could launch the largest gathering of people in the country since the pandemic first hit 16 months ago.
Kate Wik of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority said the public’s pent-up demand to visit Las Vegas “is real.”
That would be a long way from a year ago when the entire city shut down for almost three full months before reopening on a limited basis. According to Casino.org and the Wall Street Journal, at one point last year Las Vegas had an unemployment rate of 34.2 percent, the highest in the nation for any metropolitan area with a population over one million. As recently as April, Las Vegas had the second-highest jobless rate, trailing only Los Angeles.
However, with the recent national rollout of COVID-19 vaccines and stimulus checks, the Southern Nevada economy has begun to rebound. It’s still a far cry from 2019 levels, but for consecutive months this spring, Las Vegas has had more than two million visitors.
And it’s actually surprised a lot of people how quickly it’s happening.
“I went to the (Golden) Knights (hockey) game on Sunday, their first playoff game … the town was buzzing,” Josh Swissman, partner at The Strategy Organization, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “It felt almost like pre-pandemic times.”
“I see it even when I try to go to dinner on a Saturday night,” said Debi Nutton, a gaming coach and consultant who is currently advising Resorts World Las Vegas. “I tried to go to Green Valley Ranch. Every restaurant was sold out; you couldn’t get in.”
In March, Nevada casinos brought in $1 billion in gaming win, and 2.23 million visitors came to Las Vegas. Both were the highest totals since February 2020. It was the best month for Nevada casinos in eight years.
“I’m pretty bullish on the summer, which is typically a lull in the year for the business,” Swissman said. “I think the summer is going to be a big, big volume season for us in Vegas this year.”
That’s not a stretch given the pent-up demand for travel, or what many are calling ‘revenge travel.’
“We continue to see an increase in leisure visitation with every passing month since vaccines have become widely available throughout the U.S.,” the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority said in a written statement. “With pent-up demand for travel, even greater pent-up demand for the unrivaled Las Vegas experience, we anticipate visitation continuing to grow.”
There’s even optimism that international air travel will start returning. Las Vegas is a huge destination for global travelers, especially from Asia.
McCarran International Airport’s director of aviation Rosemary Vassiliadis recently testified before a Senate subcommittee that the U.S. needs to do more to lift restrictions and restart international flights.
“At our 2019 peak, Las Vegas enjoyed nonstop service to and from 11 different countries around the globe. Now that number is down to one: Mexico,” Vassiliadis said. “Over the first four months of 2021, our international volume has amounted to less than 80,000 passengers. However, there is hope on the horizon. Almost every week, I or members of my team hear from representatives of international air carriers expressing interest in quickly resuming flights to Las Vegas.”
And everybody can thank the World of Concrete Convention.
Amanda Belarmino, an assistant professor at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas’ William F. Harrah College of Hospitality, called the first convention “a major milestone in our recovery.”
She said that a successful recovery must include conventions, but also said “Just as important will be our ability to provide a high level of service that will advertise to all travelers that we are open for business and ready to serve.”
Other conventions are coming in behind World of Concrete, but if Vegas gets the kind of attendance that the wildly popular Consumer Electronics Show (CES) gets when it comes to town again in January of 2022, it will truly be back.