Letter: Vegas economy lacks diversity

Friday, Oct. 5, 2001 | 4:31 a.m.

The event of recent weeks draws attention to the Achilles' heal of the Las Vegas economy, as thousands are forced to join the unemployment lines. Great efforts and plans proposed by civic leaders, including Mayor Oscar Goodman, have been focused on further embellishing tourist attractions and adding capacity to the already substantial casino industry.

What should now be painfully obvious is that Las Vegas needs more diversity in its economy to provide a balance that will sustain the area when tourism is impacted by economic events. Other regions have aggressively sought to encourage industries to locate in their area by offering tax exemptions and other economic incentives.

Las Vegas has many positive qualities, such as relatively affordable housing, a favorable climate and a substantial workforce. The Strip made this town famous and will always attract many tourists. However, as can be readily seen, the area has outgrown the capacity of tourist trade in terms of the need for jobs and economic stability.

We can only hope that the World Trade Center disaster will serve as a wake-up call to Las Vegans that we cannot expect a single industry to sustain this area and we need to take aggressive steps to encourage other kinds of economic development that will bring jobs.

ERIC STEFIK