Convention Numbers Dip in Otherwise Record Year
Heidi Genoist -- Tradeshow Week, 2/15/2008 11:06:00 AM
Las Vegas had a record-breaking year in terms of overall visitor volume, but the number of those visiting for conventions was down slightly, according to the year-end statistical report of the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority.
Overall visitation to Las Vegas in 2007 was 39.2 million, up less than 1 percent from 38.9 million in 2006. The number of convention visitors, meanwhile, dropped 1.6 percent, from 6.3 million in 2006 to 6.2 million in 2007.
Kevin Bagger, LVCVA director of Internet marketing and research, attributed the slight decline to shows rotating out of the city. “This is not the first time Las Vegas has ever seen a convention attendance decline,” Bagger said, when he presented the 2007 numbers Feb. 12 at the monthly meeting of the authority’s board of directors. “It’s a function of the calendar and rotation cycle of the conventions. Sometimes it works in Las Vegas’ favor, where several shows will all rotate into Las Vegas in the same year. Other years, there’s a different mix of shows.”
As examples, he cited the American Dental Assn. Annual Session & World Marketplace and Natl. Hardware Show and Lawn & Garden World. Both were in town in 2006 but not 2007, diminishing the convention attendance total by some 90,000 delegates.
Considered by itself, December was not a good month for conventions in Las Vegas. Attendance of 129,664 was down 19.9 percent from the 161,809 during the same month in 2006. The number of conventions (1,285) dropped 8.7 percent, and the economic impact ($172 million) declined 14.9 percent. For all of 2007, the number of conventions remained flat at 23,847, while the economic impact increased 3.3 percent to $8.45 billion.
Overall, Bagger said, it was a banner year for Sin City. Besides the record high visitor volume, the city also had a total average occupancy rate of 90.4 percent, up from 89.7 percent in 2006. “To achieve 90.4 percent occupancy is almost unheard of,” he added, comparing the level to the national average of 63.2 percent.
Still, members of the LVCVA board of directors stressed the importance of avoiding complacency in a tough economic environment. Charles Bowling, executive vice president of sales, channel marketing and distribution for MGM Mirage, said, “We are seeing softness in the economy. All our competitors are gaining traction … as they’ve invested hundreds of millions of dollars to improve their meeting and convention facilities, and we see that competition coming day in and day out.”
Indirectly referring to recent suggestions that some LVCVA funds be diverted to the Nevada government’s ailing budget, Bowling added, “As we look to the future, right in front of us, it’s going to be a very tough battle, and we need to have the resources available to us, as far as funds and marketing staff and supporting vendors (go). It is a different market than it has been in the last four or five years.”
