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Authority aims to lift Las Vegas' global visitor count
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CRAIG L. MORAN/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman laughs Tuesday during his final Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority meeting at the Las Vegas Convention Center. He was one of five authority board members to step down after the meeting, all of them elected officials. » Buy this photo
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Updated: Jun. 15, 2011 | 9:27 a.m.
Diversification -- the perennial catchphrase for rebuilding a Nevada economy less reliant on tourism -- has come to the visitor industry.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, at its monthly board meeting Tuesday, decided to boost the status of three of its overseas offices in the coming year and lay the groundwork for a fourth. The action will spearhead the authority's attempts to boost the share of foreigners that drop into the city from 18 percent to 30 percent over the next decade while potentially reducing the predominance of Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom.
Guided by growth trends that have emerged in federal government tourism statistics, the authority will hire a new representative for South Korea, raise Brazil to a full-time office from the current part-time status and create a separate office for France, which now falls under a pan-European umbrella. A representative in India will come at an unspecified later date.
Authority surveys have shown that people carrying passports stay longer, spend more and take in a wider range of activities than their domestic counterparts, senior vice president of marketing Cathy Tull said. Also, going outside the United States could help cushion the blows inflicted by future recessions.
The three top countries, Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom, now account for about 70 percent of all visitors.
"While we expect them to continue to grow, it would be difficult to hit the 30 percent target with them alone," she said. "We need to look beyond those three countries."
The U.S. Department of Commerce projects visitation growth for the three countries, ranging from 27 percent to 56 percent through 2016. By contrast, the analysis predicts visitation growth of 57 percent for France, 150 percent for Brazil and 200 percent for South Korea.
But obstacles remain that are beyond the authority's control. In Brazil, for example, potential visitors may have to wait six months for an in-person interview with a consular officer to obtain a visitor visa, according the U.S. State Department.
The number of foreign visitors to Las Vegas is difficult to track. McCarran International Airport counted 1 million people that arrived on international airlines last year, but unknown others fly on domestic airlines or drive here.
Based on in-flight surveys, the U.S. Department of Commerce said that 3.8 million international people visited in 2009, the latest number available. The authority, based on its annual visitor survey, puts the number at 6.7 million international visitors for last year.
In an unrelated matter, five of the authority's 14 board members stepped down at the end of Tuesday's meeting, all of them elected officials. Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, who has served as the authority's chairman for six years, along with Mesquite Mayor Susan Holecheck, Las Vegas Councilman Gary Reese, North Las Vegas Councilman William Robinson and Henderson Mayor Steve Kirk all stepped down. The respective city councils will pick their replacements in the next few weeks.
Contact reporter Tim O'Reiley at toreiley@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290.
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