Tourism officials praise new law

Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority President Rossi Ralenkotter, resort industry leaders and members of the organization’s board took a few moments at the outset of Tuesday’s scheduled directors meeting to praise the act and Nevada’s congressional delegation for pushing its passage.

"The one bright spot we’ve seen in the past few years has been the interest from international visitors," said MGM Mirage Chief Marketing Officer Bill Hornbuckle, who is involved with much of the casino company’s overseas visitation. "This act will help."

Under the legislation, signed into law Thursday by President Barack Obama, a program will be created that will allow the United States to advertise the country as a destination for international travelers. It creates a public-private partnership for travel promotion that is partly funded by a $10 fee paid by international travelers.

"The fee is .002 percent of what an international traveler spends on their trip," Ralenkotter said. "Many countries have entry and exit fees so the United States is doing what the rest of the world has been doing."

The idea for the Travel Promotion Act originated from the 1995 White House Conference on Tourism. It was revived after the economic downturn saw the United States lose some 68 million international visitors, which accounted for losses of $509 million in consumer spending, $32 million in tax revenue and 441,000 jobs, according to a study done by Oxford Economics.

The same study found the act could potentially draw 1.6 million new international visitors to the United States, which would generate $4 billion in new spending.

Las Vegas tourism officials hope to capture some of those visitors and market separately to potential international visitors as well.

Gary Selesner, president of Caesars Palace and the Rio, showed convention authority board members a 12-page spread in a travel publication that promoted visitation to India. Having the ability to promote the United States as a brand would benefit Las Vegas.

The convention authority estimated the act would increase international visitation to 20 percent of Las Vegas’ total market share. In addition, while Oxford believes the act will be responsible for creating 40,000 tourism jobs nationally, the convention authority estimated an increase in international visitation could create another 12,000 jobs in Southern Nevada.

Ralenkotter didn’t pinpoint exactly where those jobs would be located.

"We know what other countries spend on promoting travel," Ralenkotter said. "We also know that tourism is either No. 1, 2 or 3 in terms of job creation in every state. There are tremendous potential economic benefits from this act."

Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3871.