Vegas said to be a beneficiary of Internet travel industry

Thursday, Feb. 10, 2000 | 9:42 a.m.

Internet travel-site executives say Las Vegas is a major beneficiary in their booming industry.

The executives say the Internet bookings have begun to alter the mix of visitors coming to Las Vegas, drawing more younger visitors with higher incomes and more education.

"I do know they're not the same as the Vegas demographic from the past," said Gary Goldberg, vice president of product development for Priceline.com.

"We have the vehicle to tell the Las Vegas story in a very powerful way," said Terry Jones, president of Travelocity.com.

The executives, speaking Wednesday at the annual American Gaming, Lodging and Leisure Summit, said Las Vegas is among the top five locales considered by World Wide Web users.

The annual conference is sponsored by Bear, Stearns & Co.; the Lionel Sawyer & Collins law firm; and Casino Journal Publishing Group.

A key for Internet travel growth lies in the ability of Web site operators to convert site surfers into buyers. Between 3 percent and 4 percent of Expedia's 4 million monthly U.S. visitors actually make purchases on the company's site, said Expedia President and Chief Executive Officer Richard Barton.

But he estimated that the company's Internet offerings influence the long-term travel plans of many more who weave their way through information on a given destination.

Microsoft Corp. spin-off Expedia recently agreed to purchase Las Vegas-based Travelscape.com in a deal valued at $90 million. With the transaction comes Travelscape's reservation system linking 1,200 hotels in 240 cities worldwide. A significant portion of that network is composed of Las Vegas hotels.

"They have this amazing supply," Barton said of Travelscape. "We'll take this supply and plug it into our system. This basically will drive a whole new market to Las Vegas."