Task force sees Las Vegas as nation’s new USO

Friday, Sept. 28, 2001 | 9:48 a.m.

Las Vegas should position itself in the role of the USO to weary Americans needing a break from the nation's war on terrorism, a newly created task force of Nevada tourism experts says.

"Nevada is known as America's 24-hour recreational destination and as the USO has supplied recreational activities to the armed forces, Nevada can supply recreational activities to the people of America," Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt said Thursday at the first meeting of the eight-member Tourism Stability Task Force.

"As people get back to work, people need to get back to play," Hunt said. "During this time of uncertainty, it is vital for everyone's success that we focus our activities in a coordinated effort to communicate consistent messaging that will gain consumer confidence for travel to this great state."

The USO -- the United Service Organization -- has coordinated the transportation and logistics for entertainers to perform for military troops overseas in times of war. The nonprofit, nongovernmental agency was incorporated in 1941 to boost troop morale during World War II and is based in Washington, D.C.

Hunt created the Tourism Task Force to develop a strategy to stabilize the state's tourism industry and conducted a one-hour teleconference meeting to begin discussing how the state should position itself to the world.

The group agreed to coordinate public information through the Nevada Commission on Tourism, acknowledging that most of the statistics and projections are coming from researchers at the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

The LVCVA, represented on the task force by its president, Manny Cortez, and the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority and its president, Jeff Beckelman, agreed to coordinate information and strategies with Bruce Bommarito, executive director of the Commission on Tourism.

The LVCVA's advertising agency, R&R Partners, also is represented on the board by its chief executive officer and principal, Billy Vassiliadis. He explained how the LVCVA is approaching the marketing of Las Vegas in the days following the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the East Coast.

Las Vegas remains an attractive short-vacation destination, Vassiliadis said, for people "who need a break from CNN fatigue."

"Even soldiers in a war need a weekend break," Vassiliadis said.

The agency's research suggests that Las Vegas would have its best success with potential customers within a two-hour plane ride or a five-hour drive of the city. As a result, post-attack marketing should focus on the Southern California market -- long the city's most important customer base, from which 30 percent of the city's visitors come, according to the LVCVA.

Customers that are relatively close to Las Vegas, he said, are more likely to make spontaneous decisions to visit.

Vassiliadis said the state's tourism outlets need to beef up their ability to deliver information on safety and security to prospective visitors. Internet sites maintained by the LVCVA and the state will have more details on security measures that are in place and a toll-free telephone number -- (877) VISIT LV -- has been set up to answer travelers' questions.

The Las Vegas marketing program will play up the city as a place for people to escape from the world's realities, he said.

Because the city has a shared interest in filling airplane seats as well as hotel rooms, the task force includes Bill Bible, president of the Nevada Resort Association; Van Heffner, president of the Nevada Hotel and Lodging Association and the Nevada Restaurant Association; Frank Fahrenkopf, chief executive officer of the American Gaming Association; and Diane Patten, station leader for Southwest Airlines in Las Vegas.

Patten said Southwest's loads to Las Vegas are only about 10 percent below the anticipated level for September. And, Vassiliadis said even though occupancy rates are below normal levels at the resorts, the city is still better off than most tourism destinations. The LVCVA said Thursday that the forecast occupancy rate for this weekend is in the low 80 percent range.

The biggest challenge now, Patten and Vassiliadis said, is boosting midweek visitation levels, which have shrunk following the cancellation and postponement of 262 conventions, meetings and trade shows.

Fahrenkopf, who participated in the teleconference from Washington, told the group that Capitol Hill is now filled with lobbyists seeking assistance for a variety of industries hurt in some way by the terrorist attacks. The gaming industry, he said, would focus more on convincing people that resorts are secure and not on getting federal subsidies.

"We're finding that most people really aren't afraid to fly," he said. "They're just staying home, waiting out the uncertainty of when the other shoe is going to drop."

Task force members also said the state should encourage its congressional delegation to work to encourage the federal government to suspend some tax collections to encourage travel. Fuel taxes, airline ticket taxes and passenger facility charges were discussed as possible fees that could be suspended to make travel more appealing.

In an interview after the meeting, Hunt also said the downturn in tourism spotlighted how important it is for the state to get serious about diversifying its economy.

"It's unfortunate, but this was a real wake-up call to us about how important diversification is to Nevada," Hunt said.

In addition to being the top state government executive for the Commission on Tourism, the lieutenant governor oversees the Commission on Economic Development which is charged with fostering diversification.

In related tourism developments, representatives of the air tour industry that fly passengers over the Grand Canyon said Thursday that they are continuing to feel the crunch of the downturn with scenic flight bookings off by about 60 percent.

"It hasn't hit bottom yet," said Norm Freeman, chief executive officer of Scenic Airlines, the nation's largest air tour company, based at the North Las Vegas Airport. "Our loads are way down and the number of Japanese groups is noticeably down."

Freeman explained that because Asian tour groups book many months in advance, cancellations are coming in faster than new bookings and that October passenger counts are continuing to decline.

Freeman said last week that the blow of the downturn in tourism has been softened for Scenic because it has several government contracts, including one to transport Department of Defense personnel in California.