While Las Vegas is known as the entertainment capital of the world, it also has been its top trade show destination for nearly a quarter century.
The Tradeshow News Network recently named Las Vegas the top destination for trade shows and conventions, based on total event space and numbers of attendees.
“It’s no surprise that Las Vegas, once again, was ranked the No. 1 city on the 2015 TSNN top 250 Trade Show list, with 54 of the biggest shows being hosted there,” TSNN President Rachel Wimberly said. “The combination of world-class resorts, convention and meetings venues, restaurants and entertainment make Las Vegas a very desirable destination.”
Also helping Las Vegas also has an abundance of four- and five-star hotels and resorts where event attendees can stay during the week. With the Las Vegas Strip and Fremont Street mere steps away from most attendees’ hotels, they have a diverse array of entertainment, dining, and drinking establishments within walking distance or a short cab ride.
By comparison, Orlando and its Orange County Convention Center is one of the nation’s top convention centers and rivals Las Vegas in popularity. Yet, it is located in an isolated area many miles away from popular entertainment venues and attractions.
The Orange County Convention Center also lacks an abundance of first-rate hotels nearby. It has some, but nearly as many as Las Vegas.
Many of the world’s largest trade shows, conventions, and exhibitions are held annually in Las Vegas, including the International CES consumer electronics show.
Last year’s International CES 2015 show took up some 2.2 million square feet of exhibit space across several Las Vegas convention centers, and had more than 3,600 exhibitors and nearly 170,000 attendees, according to the LVCVA.
The city is intent on keeping its top spot, which it has owned for more than two decades.
“Las Vegas consistently provides our convention clients with the most professional and productive experience possible, and is proud to be named the No. 1 trade show destination for the 22nd [consecutive] year,” LVCVA President and CEO Rossi Ralenkotter said.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) is undertaking a 10-year, $2.3 billion improvement of the Las Vegas Convention Center, in order to maintain its top ranking and boost participation among international visitors.
“It is critical that we continue to provide the most professional and productive experience to our convention delegates,” Ralenkotter said in a release. “We need to continue to invest in our convention infrastructure to make sure we are always ahead of the competition.”
Last year, 5,891,151 convention delegates were among the city’s more than 42 million visitors, and attended 21,306 conventions, according to the LVCVA. The number of convention delegates in 2015 was the most since 2007, when 6,209,253 delegates attended 23,847 conventions in Las Vegas.
The LVCVA estimates large conventions drawing 100,000 or more attendees cause room rates on the Las Vegas Strip to run three to five times their normal weekday rates at the city’s nearly 150,000 hotel rooms. Conventions enable hotels on the Las Vegas Strip to average nearly 90 percent in 2015.
The LVCVA in 2012 estimated conventions and meetings directly supported 33,100 jobs that paid $1.3 billion in wages and salaries. When including indirect economic impacts, the industry supported 56,800 jobs and $2.1 billion in wages and salaries, and generated more than $6.7 billion in economic activity.
Las Vegas has several large, well-run convention centers, including the Las Vegas, Mandalay Bay, and Sands Exhibition and Convention Center.
Several other convention and events venues exist along the Las Vegas Strip, on Fremont Street, and in off-strip resorts. Even the World Market Center near downtown Las Vegas hosts sizable events, including an annual furniture trade show drawing tens of thousands of attendees.
Las Vegas also has two of the world’s largest and most experienced events companies, Freeman and GES, which are the general contractors for many of the largest events at Las Vegas conventions centers.
Providing the bulk of labor for events at Las Vegas convention centers is Teamsters Local 631, which ensures workers are trained properly before they are allowed to set up and tear down exhibits.
With great hotels, world-class infrastructure, experienced general contractors, and skilled labor working trade shows and conventions in Las Vegas, the city likely will continue ranking as the world’s top destination for conventions, trade shows and other large events for some time.
