LAS VEGAS — While acknowledging the continuing pressure the recession has put on local tourism, travel industry leaders who gathered at the Mirage hotel-casino this month for Travel Weekly's annual Las Vegas Leadership Forum nonetheless expressed optimism in the resilience of the city's brand, citing recent upticks in convention bookings and room demand.
In his keynote address, Rossi Ralenkotter, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, noted that room demand was up 1.5% year over year and that convention bookings had already increased 1.9% and were expected to jump by between 10% and 11% in 2011.
Though air travel has dipped 3.4% in year-over-year comparisons through the first five months of the year, Ralenkotter noted that average daily auto traffic from feeder markets such as Southern California and Arizona had jumped 2.4%, and visitor volume for the year was expected to increase 3%, to 37.4 million.
During a roundtable forum titled "Packaging Las Vegas, Now and in the Future," panelists agreed that Vegas still holds significant allure for conventioneers and business and leisure travelers.
"Las Vegas still makes the phone ring," said Christopher Ames, director of product sales for US Airways Vacations.
Added Ray Snisky, executive vice president of Mark Travel Corp., "It's a destination that can't be duplicated anywhere in the world. Challenging times have forced companies to make layoffs and cuts, but customer satisfaction is still high."
The LVCVA and its marketing partner, R&R Advertising, have won several awards for their "What's Your Excuse?" campaign. But panelists said it wasn't enough for tourism officials to tell that story. They said hoteliers, wholesalers, airlines and travel agencies should push the narrative, particularly in international markets such as Mexico, Canada and Europe.
For Paul Coleman, president of El Paso, Texas-based Sun Travel, that means educating Vegas visitors about things they never knew they could do, like driving stock cars at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway or skydiving near the Nevada-California state line.
"Vegas' attraction is that there's something for everyone," Coleman said. "There are shows, prix fixe menus and other experiences you can't get anywhere else."
Michael Reichartz, vice president of lodging for Expedia, suggested using social media to engage customers because it "allows consumers to tell us how we're doing. We can use that feedback to do better."
Taking it a step further, Bruce Baltin, senior vice president of PKF Consulting, said the city's image-makers should capitalize on products aimed at market segments that have sufficiently weathered recent economic storms, such as nightclubs, pool parties and fine dining.
"Las Vegas built a lot of luxury product even though many consumers coming here didn't have luxury pocketbooks," Baltin said. "You have to market the appeal of Las Vegas and convince visitors that it's not only an affordable destination but also offers a level of sophistication."
Other areas of concern among panelists and attendees included the increasing number of last-minute flight bookings, consumer consternation over airlines' ancillary fees and hotels' resort fees and a glut of high-end product available at bargain prices, prompting fears that luxury hoteliers are cheapening their products and alienating wealthy clientele. But the panelists said even these concerns presented opportunities to develop deeper, more meaningful relationships with consumers.
Cady Wolf, vice president of partner marketing for Travelocity, said the key was communicating value, helping consumers become more discerning shoppers and matching them with the appropriate hotel product.
"When you do match them well and explain the value propositions that you're providing, you have a better chance of creating a repeat customer," Wolf said.
During an update on public affairs, U.S. Travel Executive Vice President and COO Bruce Bommarito was asked whether there was any possibility that the new Corporation for Travel Promotion, which will market inbound travel to the U.S. under the Travel Promotion Act, would be absorbed by the Department of Commerce. “No chance,” he replied.
Wall Street Journal travel editor Scott McCartney concluded the forum by saying that there were polar-opposite expert views about which way the economy might go in the coming year. Projecting an image of a roulette wheel, he wondered aloud whether we were headed to "a red or a black economy. Recession or recovery, crisis looming or crisis passed?"
McCartney told the audience that the industry was at a "crucial juncture" and said that, for travel, it might be the airlines model, with its ancillary fees and reduced capacity, that is pointing the way to stronger financials. "No joke," the journalist, often critical of the airline industry, added.
Arnie Weissmann contributed to this report.