Attendance rises at tour association show in Las Vegas

In its first visit to Las Vegas, the National Tour Association Convention's registration was up 18 percent over last year.

Unfortunately, that doesn't mean it's coming back.

"NTA tends to move around," said Art Jimenez, senior director of leisure sales for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

But the strong showing this week does help Las Vegas in two major ways. With its attendance of about 2,000 travel professionals, the trade show will have an economic impact of about $2.1 million. And, Jimenez said future business it will garner for the city could be huge.

"Seeing is believing," he said.

From Monday through today, Mandalay Bay hosted tour professionals from more than 31 countries that included tour operators, hotels, transportation companies and destinations.

American destination participants included Travel Portland, which offered free beer tastings, and Temple Square in Salt Lake City, which offered free genealogical searches for attendees.

Chip Smith, chairman of the visitor activities coordinating committee for Temple Square, said the convention was a success for his group.

National Tour Association President Lisa Simon agreed.

"We're thrilled with the attendance this year and I credit Las Vegas a lot with that," Simon said. "The economy is still so volatile and you don't know what to expect."

Gladys Link, a project coordinator with Grand Canyon Tour and Travel, said she was able to meet new suppliers and current customers while checking out her competition.

Besides suppliers and destinations, industry partners, including the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association, the U.S. Commercial Service and the United Motorcoach Association, also exhibited.

"I think we definitely were successful in meeting a lot of companies," said Janis Kalnins, senior international trade specialist for the U.S. Commercial Service. "This type of show is a great opportunity for us to let companies know that we exist and how we can help them."

During the convention, the U.S. Commercial Service met with attendees who were interested in reaching out to their counterparts in foreign countries. For example, Chicago's Essex Inn expressed interest in attracting tourists from Japan. Representatives from the Commercial Service can help connect the property with people overseas to conduct business.

"We're matchmakers," Kalnins said.

Besides exhibiting, the U.S. Commercial Service presented an export achievement certificate to the association for its work in easing the ability of Chinese travel to America. In 2010, the number of Chinese group leisure travelers totaled 46,000. In 2011, that number surged to more than 200,000 visitors.

"That's probably a greatly underestimated number, too," Simon said.

In educational forums, the convention focused on two revenue streams for tour operators: faith-based groups and the U.S. Hispanic market. Both, Simon said, can be highly lucrative.

"It really is a way to open the door to new business," Simon said.

During the show, the tour association also celebrated its 60th anniversary.

Contact reporter Laura Carroll at
lcarroll@lvbusinesspress.com or 702-380-4588.