Travel Industry Show Leaves Its Mark
Rachel Wimberly -- Tradeshow Week, 5/30/2008 11:33:00 AM
Even though Intl. Pow Wow, the Travel Industry Assn.’s annual event for travel organizations and their buyers, is in Las Vegas May 31-June 4, its impact on the city will last far beyond the five days the 5,000-plus delegates are in town.
Roger Dow, TIA’s president and CEO, said, “In addition to the immediate economic impact from the influx of visitors to the actual show, the host city and surrounding area can expect to see an economic impact of approximately 10 percent in the three to five years after the event takes place, based on travel booked at the show.”
According the LVCVA, the non-gaming impact of the travel industry show on the days it’s in the city is estimated to be $9.4 million.
The event hasn’t been in Las Vegas since 1989 but, Dow added prior to arriving in Sin City, “We’re looking forward to seeing how the city has changed since then.”
The Pow Wow isn’t the typical tradeshow experience. Instead, more than 1,000 U.S. travel organizations from every region in the U.S. and close to 1,500 international and domestic travel buyers from more than 70 countries conduct business appointments in booths grouped by region in the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center. Dow estimated 47,000 business appointments will take place during the show.
“(The meetings) result in the generation of over $3.5 billion in future visit travel in the U.S.,” he added. “At Intl. Pow Wow, buyers and sellers are able to conduct business that would otherwise be generated through an exhaustive number of around-the-world trips.”
Besides all the meetings, it’s also an opportunity for a host city to show off its bells and whistles to the people who matter most in the tourism industry. Last year, when the show was in Anaheim, delegates were invited to Disneyland, among numerous other attractions in the surrounding area.
Not to be outdone this year, in the works for attendees are a beach party at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino sponsored by the MGM Mirage and LVCVA; exclusive performances by the Blue Man Group at the Venetian; and, for the closing night festivities, a party at the Fremont Street Experience sponsored by Fremont Street Experience, the LVCVA and the Nevada Commission on Tourism.
Florida will hit the jackpot in 2009 and 2010 when the Pow Wow visits the state twice (Miami and Orlando) before heading back to the West Coast for the first time in 2012 (San Francisco).
