Execs see possible snags for LV travel
The economic cycle has turned in favor of the meeting and convention industry, but other obstacles have emerged that might be trouble for Las Vegas.
Top industry executives this week cited the growing popularity of regional meetings at the expense of the megaconventions, the continuing taint covering corporate entertaining and the fear that travel harms the environment as possible red flags for the valley. The executives shared their concerns at this week's Professional Convention Management Association annual meeting at the MGM Grand.
These concerns dampened what would otherwise have been a feel-good message: Corporate spending has started to rebound after more than two years of tight-fisted business travel.
"In the last six months, there has been a significant uptick in face-to-face meetings," said John Graham IV, president of the Center for Association Leadership. "It is almost a complete reversal of what we saw last year."
A survey by Meeting Professionals International projects an 8 percent increase in convention spending this year, close to what Las Vegas properties are seeing in their bookings.
At the same time, Christine Duffy, president of Maritz Travel Co., sees the mix changing.
"Corporate America is moving a lot more to regional meetings because it has become such a hassle to travel," she said. "This obviously impacts big cities with big investments in convention facilities."
Several experts mentioned the lingering stigma associated with what they called the "AIG effect," a backlash against excessive corporate spending. It's named for American International Group, the insurance company that continued to spend lavishly on sales meetings even after receiving tens of billions of federal bailout dollars.
"The AIG effect is a problem of not being taken seriously as an industry, of being viewed as frivolous," U.S. Travel Association President Roger Dow said. "We have done a poor job in getting our message out" that travel and meetings come in tandem with an expanding economy.
However, he added, the fallout from President Barack Obama's admonitions against visiting Las Vegas has faded away.
The federal government has started to order reductions in travel, not only to cut the deficit but to boost environmental sustainability. The idea is that less flying or driving to other cities will mean fewer greenhouse gas emissions.
Even companies that have decided to spend more on meetings want to be sure they are getting their money's worth, Meeting Professionals International President Bruce McMillan said. That involves trying to tote up the tangible or potential business gains that come from in-person meetings.
The impact of Web conferences and webinars still concerns the industry, given fears that people will increasingly skip physical meetings to watch on a screen. But Dow thinks businesses will ultimately conclude that there is no substitute for face-to-face contact.
Contact reporter Tim O'Reiley at
toreiley@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290.
