Officials tell travelers: Nevada open for business

WASHINGTON -- Amid hand-wringing by senators and travel executives about the woeful state of U.S. tourism on Wednesday, the message from Sen. Harry Reid was direct: "Nevada is open for business and we eagerly await your visit."

Reid, D-Nev., delivered a sales pitch for the Silver State in testimony before the Senate subcommittee on tourism.

"We are ready to host your business meetings and serve all your related needs, and we are ready to host your next vacation. ... For business meetings, Las Vegas remains an unmatched destination," he said.

A few minutes later, a presentation from Rossi Ralenkotter, president and chief executive of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, made it clear why Reid was pushing the hard sell.

Las Vegas is hurting, Ralenkotter said.

"As we analyze the current trends and data for Las Vegas, I can absolutely say the current recession has had the most severe impact on the industry than ever before," Ralenkotter said. Gasoline prices, housing foreclosures, the banking system collapse, the stock market ups and downs, unemployment and airline cutbacks have created "the imperfect storm."

Through the first three months of this year, visitor volume is down 9 percent, passenger traffic at McCarran International Airport is off 14 percent and convention attendance is down 29 percent, he said. Within the last year, about 16,000 hospitality workers have lost jobs in Nevada.

Ralenkotter and five other officials in the travel and tourism industry spoke to the Senate subcommittee. Collectively they offered anecdotes from across the country about travel and tourism revenue drying up amid current economic conditions.

On top of the bad economy, most said overheated rhetoric aimed at business travel was also at least partly to blame.

Sam Gilliland, CEO of Internet travel site Travelocity, said that misguided criticism of business travel has led to a lot of confusion.

The Treasury Department's failure to carefully define what constitutes luxury and excessive travel for recipients of federal bailout funds has led to "paralyzing confusion ... in our industry and in corporations," he said.

"Meetings, conventions and incentive travel are proven business tools that allow companies to establish valuable relationships, solicit feedback and reward employees," he said.

"I think the perception that business travel is not an essential part of conducting commerce has had a really deleterious effect," said Jay Rasulo, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. "... If business travel comes to a place like Las Vegas, Miami or any other attractive location, it becomes vilified."

Senators on the subcommittee seemed to agree. The subcommittee's chairwoman, Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said the excesses of a few bad actors have unfairly tarnished business travel.

"Most business travel is essential to doing business, and succeeding at business," Klobuchar said. "There are ways for businesses to conduct meetings and events in a way that is responsible and productive."

Jay Witzel, the chairman and CEO of Carlson Hotels, which owns the Radisson hotel chain, said he feared the economic crisis had created an "America where legitimate travel is being questioned and canceled.

"Business travel is not optional, nor is it a luxury," he said. "There's no substitute for face-to-face, hand-to-hand and heart-to-heart meetings."

Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault @stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760. The Associated Press contributed to this story.