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Jun. 12, 2007
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How about visiting Vegas, eh?

Tourism group to vote on making push to neighbors to north of U.S.

By BENJAMIN SPILLMAN
REVIEW-JOURNAL

A passenger heads to check in at the Air Canada counter at Terminal 2 at McCarran International Airport. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitor Authority will vote today on whether to hire a Canadian firm to market harder in that country.
Photo by Jeff Scheid.

After 26 years as a Las Vegas visitor, Canadian James Dixon is familiar with Sin City's hard-sell recruiting tactics. The 55-year-old Toronto-area resident gets monthly mailers from Las Vegas hotels and weekly sales pitches in his workplace e-mail, in addition to unsolicited offers for discounts and comps on the Strip.

"Before, we used to have to phone to see if we could get any comps," said Dixon, whose visits have evolved from guy-weekend getaways in the early 1980s to family vacations today. "Now they send it to us."

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    • After today, Dixon and countless other Canadians may be getting even more pitches to visit Las Vegas. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is scheduled to vote on whether to approve a contract that would put Canadian marketing in the hands of a specialist with the goal of attracting even more visitors from Southern Nevada's No. 1 foreign guest source.

    The tourism agency wants to divert Canadians who take vacations in Mexico and the Caribbean to Las Vegas. It also wants to increase the number of Canadian business and convention events in Southern Nevada.

    "There is potential for us to capture some of that business," said Terry Jicinsky, senior vice president of marketing at the authority.

    An estimated 1.9 million Canadians visited Las Vegas last year. Even more skipped the United States altogether in favor of Mexican and Caribbean trips.

    Last winter about 650,000 Canadians went to Mexico and 400,000 went to the Dominican Republic, according to the Conference Board of Canada, a nonprofit economic research firm. About 275,000 Canadians made winter trips to Las Vegas. The number is well behind other destinations but is a nearly 15 percent increase from the previous winter.

    Building on the increase is part of the authority's strategy to attract 43 million people to Las Vegas annually by the end of 2010. The authority also wants to increase the percentage of foreign visitors to 15 percent, up from 12 percent today.

    Increasing the number and diversity of visitors is important because there will be nearly 40,000 new hotel rooms in Las Vegas by the end of the decade. Recruiting visitors is key to maintaining occupancy rates around 90 percent, no small feat considering there are already about 133,000 hotel rooms in Southern Nevada.

    Today's vote is to decide whether to spend $228,000 to hire a Canadian marketing firm to represent Las Vegas.

    The firm, VoX International of Toronto, would be responsible for marketing the destination to tour operators, travel writers and meeting planners.

    "We've got lots of ideas how we can position Vegas as the No. 1 destination for Canadians," said Susan Webb, president of VoX.

    Webb said the 55- to 64-year-old demographic, a prime target for Las Vegas vacations, will grow by 25 percent in upcoming years.

    "They are looking for luxury destinations," said Webb.

    The company also plans to launch a Las Vegas Web site for French-speaking Canadians in Quebec. "I think we will get a lot of attention in that market," Webb said.

    Attracting foreign visitors to Las Vegas has been a challenge in recent years. Overseas visitation plummeted after the Sept. 11,2001 terrorist attacks and still hasn't rebounded to 2000 levels. Las Vegas resorts have turned to Canada and Mexico to make up for the overseas shortfall.

    There are now 113 direct flights from Canada to Las Vegas every week, according to the authority. Not only do airlines fly direct from major cities such as Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, there are now flights from Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg and Ottawa, Jicinsky said.

    There are also more travel headaches for Canadians. Airline passengers are now required to have passports to travel between the United States and Canada. Next year there may also be passport requirements to cross the border on land.

    Robert Martin, 69, of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia near Halifax, lost his baggage in a customs mixup en route to Las Vegas in April. Martin and his wife, Delores, were traveling on Air Canada to Nevada for their 43rd wedding anniversary. Their bags got delayed in Toronto in a mishap the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol blamed on Air Canada.

    "I wasn't happy with it," said Martin, who got $300 in compensation from the airline, an amount he said didn't cover the cost of the inconvenience. But he said the new requirements for Canadian and American travel won't dissuade him from future trips to Las Vegas.

    "I'll be back to Vegas, definitely, but not with Air Canada," he said.



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    chux wrote on June 12, 2007 12:40 PM: Everyone from Canada tries not to fly Air Canada. Every one has a horror story about them.

    People should not paint their bad run-ins as the "VEGAS" experience. There's bad service everywhere.

    Overall, our Vegas trips there have been great. TheHotel is definitely the best place I've had the pleasure of staying at in Vegas. I get way better service in Vegas than I do in Vancouver or Seattle.


    Kelly wrote on June 12, 2007 11:39 AM: Having been to Las vegas 7 times since I've turned 21, and being from Southern Ontario, I see why there would be a push for the Northern Neighbours. However, I have to relate a story from March 2007. We went to rent a car at Dollar McCarran. We'd reserved it in December. When we actually got to the counter we were informed that passpports were required to rent a car. None of this was in any of our confirmation literature. When I asked for written proof of this policy, "Laura" the manager, said there was no policy in writing anywhere. But it was policy. She told us passports were mandatory for all Canadian Travellers. This is untrue. We cross at land borders and fly out of Detroit- therefore not requiring passports. She would not waiver on this policy even though we needed to be mind readers about this.

    Perhaps if more canadians are being targeted, the merchants that deal with us should be better prepared to deal with Canadians. California, Mexico, are just an extra little time away from VEgas.

    Start treating visitors better please. As an aside, in May when my friends and I went down again, I was treated horribly by hotel staff and was embarassed because I'd always told my friends how great this city was.


    Calgary, Alberta wrote on June 12, 2007 10:53 AM: Patrick - you get what you pay for and you have to know when to go. If you spent less on gambling you'd get a nicer room. Oh by the way - I am going to Vegas again the first week of July and boy did I get a deal on a Suite at The Hotel.

    Greg - I resent your comment. For your information my son and I go to Vegas every year and I tip for room service everytime we use it and we leave a tip EVERY DAY that our room is cleaned.

    I was thinking of bringing my company to Vegas, however, the more I read the comments in this paper all I can see for the future is miserable and sarcastic residents of Las Vegas.


    chux wrote on June 12, 2007 09:17 AM: I'm from Vancouver and I don't think they really need to "aim" those marketing funds at Canadians. Allegiant Air does a pretty good job advertising here in Vancouver. We goto Vegas 2-3 times a year and same with most of our friends. Everyone knows and loves Vegas. Put the NHL team there and that's the best advertising to us ;)


    Greg McFarlane wrote on June 12, 2007 07:58 AM: I'd like to get the opinions of some dealers or waitresses.

    Q: What's the difference between a Canadian and a canoe?

    A: Sometimes canoes tip.


    patrick j merrick wrote on June 12, 2007 03:17 AM: last year my wife and i travelled to the Mayen Riveria where we spent aprox. 4K on a weeks vacation.......
    we have been to Las Vegas and the last visit left a bad taste in our mouths.we stayed at a hotel that shall be un-named at this writing, and the slots were the worst ever.paid absoloutly nothing even after a 350.00 input into one machine. we did have more luck at the imperial, which is where we should have stayed.
    that is another bone of contention i have with the las vegas hotels.as i go to vegas to gamble etc. i really don't care what the rooms look like as long as they are "clean,safe and central to the strip", but the "cheap rooms are taken up by the travel agents"!
    you want more Canadians travelling to your city....make some of the trips all-inclusive.ppl who go to mexico love this premise ( i know i do)and will be travelling to either mexico or costa rica to spend my hard earned bucks on an all inclusive vacation.so until vegas changes things a little bit.well adios amigo's