LV leads as host of events

Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2002 | 9:41 a.m.

Las Vegas will play host to more trade shows than any other city in the United States and Canada in 2003, an industry trade publication says.

A survey by Tradeshow Week says Las Vegas is scheduled to bring in 163 major shows in 2003, well ahead of No. 2 New York, which will play host to 141 shows. Rounding out the top 10 are Toronto (140), Chicago (127), Atlanta (99), Dallas (98), Orlando, Fla. (90), New Orleans (79), San Diego (76), San Francisco (71) and Washington D.C. (66).

Las Vegas draws hundreds of thousands of conventioneers to the city every year and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority said shows in the city routinely draw more people to an organization's events.

Among the major shows scheduled in Las Vegas in 2003 will be the National Association of Home Builders, which will return to the city after conducting shows in Orlando and Dallas for nine years. Other major shows returning this year: the International Consumer Electronics Show, two Men's Apparel Guild in California shows, the World of Concrete, the National Association of Broadcasters, the Specialty Equipment Market Association and Comdex.

Las Vegas also is expected to draw more conventioneers with the opening of the Mandalay Bay Convention Center next month.