The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) is canceling its contracts with 14 offices that market the city outside the United States.
The two-year contracts were set to expire June 30, and the authority had planned to renew them before the coronavirus hit, disrupting air travel worldwide and forcing the closure of all non-essential businesses in Nevada, including the state’s entire resort industry.
The authority has made a concerted effort over the last decade to grow its international presence, and visitation to Las Vegas has responded, increasing from 4 million in 2008 to 6.7 million in 2017.
For now, though, the agency will attempt to hold the fort with staff in Las Vegas.
“It’s probably the prudent decision at this point to do that and figure out as things settle how best to ramp back up and in what fashion,” said Brendan Bussmann, director of government affairs for gaming industry consultants Global Market Advisors.
“We remain committed to our global footprint of selling and marketing the destination,” LVCVA spokeswoman Lori Nelson-Kraft told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “We will, for now, continue to monitor the activity in our international markets, and we plan to expand our sales and marketing efforts based on the market recovery and travel ability.”
The LVCVA had maintained two offices in London and offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul, Sydney, Toronto, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, Paris, Dublin, Munich, Milan and Aarhus in Denmark.
