Las Vegas reverse sales mission makes it clear Canadian travel trade critical in challenging times

Last week the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) hosted 11 major Canadian tour operators in Las Vegas during what they termed as a “reverse sales mission”.

A welcome message from the LVCVA’s President and CEO, Stephen Hill, addressed the purpose of the reverse sales mission “We know that the current environment can make booking travel to the United States more challenging” and he added “Canadian travellers are important to Las Vegas, and your efforts help ensure they continue to experience everything our city has to offer.”

The context of “current environment” referring to the combination of cross-border political stress and economic issues such as the Canadian to US dollar exchange rate.

Hosting the group in Las Vegas allowed for meetings with the 16 Las Vegas suppliers that participated as well as a weeklong sampling of of the best of what Las Vegas offers visitors. The group was hosted at the Encore Resort.

The opening event included a back of the house tour of the magic behind the fountains of Bellagio, a special fountain show viewed from a dock on the lake, followed by dinner lakeside at the brand, new CARBONE Riviera restaurant.

Bright and early the next day it was time for work, starting off with a market update provided by the LVCVA.

Highlights include:

• The A’s Ballpark: Construction is underway, and the 33,000-seat stadium is on track to be completed in time for the 2028 Opening Day.
• A-List Entertainment: Backstreet Boys at Sphere, NKOTB at Dolby Live, Dolly Parton at The Colosseum, and Alanis Morissette at The Colosseum. Universal Horror Unleashed at AREA15.
• COTE at The Venetian Resort: This New York export is the first and only Korean Steakhouse with a Michelin star. COTE will open this October as part of the resort’s $1.5 billion reinvestment project.
• Sphere, the world’s largest spherical object with its concerts and the Wizard of Oz.

Along with the updates came a frank discussion on the well documented decline by Canadian visitors who are historically the number one source of international visitors to Las Vegas.

The LVCVA made it clear that a big reason for this reverse sales mission was to reassure the Canadian travel trade of their importance to Las Vegas. They wanted to make sure that the operators understood that not only were Canadian visitors important, but that Las Vegas understood that the travel trade was the best way to reach out to Canadians.

The LVCVA also took the opportunity to put a spotlight on Las Vegas’s appeal as a sports tourism destination, with some words from their keynote speaker Jeff Sharples, himself a Terrace, British Columbia native and former defenseman with the Detroit Red Wings.

He talked extensively of both his time in the NHL, the Las Vegas Thunder of the AHL, and the Vegas Golden Knights impact on hockey and Las Vegas. Sharples also spoke to growth of Las Vegas sports tourism as reasons for Canadians to visit Fabulous Las Vegas.

Following a short lunch break it was onto “partner meetings”. The format was 10 minute meetings with each partner and then 1 minute to transfer to the next meeting.

Partner meetings included:

• Caesars Entertainment
• Circa Resort & Casino
• Cirque du Soleil
• Fontainebleau Las Vegas
• Indigo Tickets
• MGV / Machine Gun Vegas
• Maverick Helicopters
• MGM Resorts International
• Miracle Miles Shops
• Papillon Helicopters
• Resort World Las Vegas
• Sahara Las Vegas
• Sphere
• The Venetian Resort Las Vegas
• Virgin Hotels Las Vegas
• Wynn and Encore Las Vegas

Travel Press Today (TPT) was also able to meet with all the LVCVA partners and all of them echoed the sentiment that they believed that the Canadian trade was the vital link in reconnecting with Canadian travellers in order to meet their revenue targets

With the conclusion of partner meetings, it was time for the reverse sales mission to move onto some first-hand research.

First stop, The Wizard of Oz at the Sphere. Sphere Las Vegas is the world’s largest spherical structure. It seats up to 20,000 guests inside a record-breaking 160,000 sq ft, 16K wraparound LED screen. Over 167,000 speakers deliver precision spatial audio, enhanced by 4D effects like scent, wind, and haptics for a multi-sensory experience.

From the Sphere, it was on to the Fontainebleau, the newest luxury resort on the Strip, for dinner alongside their Christmas ice rink. A night of skating and dinner- what could be better.

Some highlights from the rest of the week include an evening of rodeo at the National Finals Rodeo, hitting balls at Top Golf Las Vegas, a private behind the scenes tour at Allegiant Stadium (home of the Las Vegas Raiders), a scenic Maverick Helicopter flight to see the bright lights of Las Vegas at night, and finally a fabulous dinner at Encore’s Casa Playa.

Story & Photos by Michael Schoenberger