Vegas poised to cash in on growth of minority travel

Monday, Jan. 15, 2001 | 11:24 a.m.

Las Vegas is the top resort destination for American Asians and Hispanics and the No. 2 place to go for blacks, a new travel industry report says.

The Travel Industry Association of America found a significant increase in travel over the past three years by minority Americans and analyzed travel patterns in a report called "The Minority Traveler," based on a mail-in survey of 240,000 American households conducted in 1999.

For Las Vegas, one of the highlights of the report is that all three minority groups surveyed are more likely than the average U.S. traveler to participate in nightlife activities and gambling while traveling.

Cathy Keefe, a spokeswoman for the TIA, praised Las Vegas for a marketing plan directed at a wide variety of audiences, including ethnic groups.

"Las Vegas shows up high in the survey because the destination has a lot to offer," Keefe said. "The city has done an excellent job of marketing itself over the years as having a little something for everybody, including the family market and the minority market.

"The travel industry is made up of a lot of little niche markets. The data show that Las Vegas' efforts have really been on target. I think the latest ad campaign is great."

The TIA report explains the type of leisure activities enjoyed by different minority segments. For example, for all minority groups, entertainment is the second most common reason for taking a pleasure trip -- and that's the main reason why Las Vegas fared so well in the survey. The top reason for taking a pleasure trip -- to see family.

The report says the travel volume increase by minority vacationers was dramatically higher than the overall 1 percent growth of U.S. travelers overall. From 1997 to 1999, black travelers increased the number of trips they took by 16 percent, from 60.1 million person trips to 69.6 million person trips.

A "person trip" is a round trip taken by an individual. A vacation by a family of four would constitute four person trips.

Hispanic travel was up 11 percent, from 63.9 million person trips to 71.2 million person trips, and Asian travel was up 7 percent, from 28.5 million to 30.4 million person trips.

"These growth rates show that our industry has been very assertive in its efforts to market to minority travelers," said William Norman, president and chief executive officer of TIA. "In the 1990s, every sector of our industry -- hotels, theme parks, city visitor bureaus -- has reached out to the minority traveler through targeted advertising, minority travel guides and special ethnic promotions, and I think we are seeing the results."

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority promotes the city to minority customers.

"We've specifically advertised on BET (Black Entertainment Television) and in black enterprise magazines, like Ebony and Jet, and we've advertised in convention materials geared to black audiences," said Rob Powers, a spokesman for the LVCVA.

"We also publish ethnic destination guides that profile the Las Vegas destination with specific information geared to minorities, like minority-owned businesses, restaurants and areas of interest to minority groups," he said.

Michael Mack of R&R Partners, the LVCVA's contracted advertising agency, said the most recent Las Vegas advertising campaign will include spots on Telemundo and Univision, the two largest Spanish-language television networks, and radio spots are planned on the American Urban Radio Networks, a network catering to black audiences.

The TIA report shows that all travelers visit places closely related to their place of residence. That's no different for minority travelers and is the reason why Las Vegas scored highest with Hispanics and Asians and No. 2 -- behind Atlanta -- for blacks.

Asian-Americans and Hispanics tend to travel in the Pacific and Mountain regions; African-Americans tend to visit the South Atlantic, East South Central and West South Central regions of the United States.

Cox Newspapers of Atlanta reported that historical and cultural attractions in the South are what draw black Americans to Atlanta.

The Georgia Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism targets advertising in publications and on television to black Americans. The department emphasizes Atlanta's historical role in the civil rights movement, Cox reported.

The Sweet Auburn Festival in April, the Sweet Auburn Music Conference in September and the National Black Arts Festival in late summer are examples of the cultural events attracting African Americans to Atlanta.

TIA's Keefe said there's no apparent correlation between where minorities vacation and whether minority ownership is involved.

Some gaming experts have speculated that Don Barden would woo black customers when he acquires the Fitzgeralds hotel-casino in downtown Las Vegas, a $149 million deal announced in November. Barden, who owns the Majestic Star Casino in Gary, Ind., and was an unsuccessful bidder for a casino in Detroit when gaming was legalized in that city, has said he plans no specific targeting of minority customers.

Other details from TIA's "The Minority Traveler" report: