World Trade Center to be established in Las Vegas

By Richard N. Velotta

Tuesday, March 9, 2010 | 6:46 p.m.

The organization that produces the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas has obtained the trademark rights for “World Trade Center, Las Vegas” and will work to develop a location in the city as a center for international trade.

The Arlington, Va.-based Consumer Electronics Association obtained the rights from the World Trade Centers Association, which has more than 300 facilities dedicated to world commerce in 100 countries.

Terms of the association’s agreement with the CEA, announced today, were not disclosed.

Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the association, said Las Vegas is an increasingly important city for international business, particularly because the city hosts so many conventions and trade shows of global interest.

Shapiro’s own International CES, which has met in Las Vegas since 1978, had 25,000 delegates from foreign countries of the estimated 128,000 that attended the show in January.

Shapiro said now that the CEA has the World Trade Center designation, it would form a corporation, currently called “World Trade Center Las Vegas.” Representatives of the corporation would work with the owners and operators of buildings willing to host the center.

Shapiro said it could be a hotel, an office building or some other facility, and the CEA would consider a variety of proposals from the business community.

“Every World Trade Center does it differently,” Shapiro said. “We could end up working with an entrepreneurial hotel that wants to reposition itself as a center for business. Every hotel in Las Vegas is trying to position itself to the leisure crowd. But the business side is really the fastest growing and most stable portion of the market.”

Shapiro said the World Trade Center Association didn’t affix a set of rules on what kinds of facilities are needed in its buildings. Some have offices and meeting facilities or offer trade information and education events.

The Los Angeles World Trade Center, for example, is located in downtown Los Angeles and offers trade seminars on a regular basis. In addition to meeting rooms, the center has on-site visa information and foreign currency exchange services.

The most famous World Trade Center, the twin towers in New York, not only housed a variety of business and trade facilities but was a symbol of global commerce, Shapiro said.

Rossi Ralenkotter, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, said the development of the World Trade Center would signal to the world that Las Vegas is a business destination as well as a leisure destination.

“We believe it’s going to raise the level of awareness of us as an international trade show meeting destination,” Ralenkotter said after announcing the deal at the LVCVA board of directors meeting today.

Ralenkotter said the announcement goes hand in hand with the signing of the Travel Promotions Act by President Obama last week. That legislation is expected to boost international travel to the United States, and Las Vegas plans to benefit.

The LVCVA has a goal to increase its market share of international visitors from 15 percent to 20 percent over the next five years. Ralenkotter said the World Trade Center designation is key to boosting business travel to the city.

“Leveraging the brand of Las Vegas with the World Trade Center designation will reinforce the message that Vegas means business and will help increase international visitation,” Ralenkotter said.