The LVCVA took a pass on getting involved with last month’s Electric Daisy Carnival at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Today, authority board members were singing a different tune.
A trusted traveler program is an idea that should really fly.
Monday, July 11, 2011
We’ve all done our fair share of complaining about the hassles we encounter at those airport security checkpoints. But how many people would be willing to enroll in—and pay for—a trusted traveler program that offers less screening?
Rupert Boneham is playing "Survivor" again. But this time, the stakes are much higher and his success could greatly benefit Southern Nevada. "This is just the start,” he says in his gravelly baritone voice. Will the city’s casinos embrace Boneham’s dream?
The owner of Las Vegas’ biggest and most successful auto dealerships still talks like the UNLV jock he once was. And that’s a good thing.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Just off a Montana fly-fishing trip, Cliff Findlay had completely forgotten about our scheduled interview and photo shoot at his Cadillac dealership at the Valley Auto Mall. “Big Cliff,” with his power forward frame and even bigger smile, has more Main Street than Wall Street in him. Besides, wearing Rebel red shows another side of Findlay and his personality.
The Nevada Tourism Commission has launched a new website catering to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. The site, gay.travelnevada.com, lists events of interest to the gay community and LGBT-friendly hotel properties.
A new arena on the Strip is a worthy reason for a new tax. It just is.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Representatives of the commercial real estate industry listened intently as Caesars Entertainment’s Marybel Batjer spelled out at a recent breakfast meeting how her company plans to get a 20,000-plus-seat arena built on land east of the Imperial Palace on the Strip.
You see them at nearly every casino: the gift shop. A North Las Vegas locals casino will try something different next week when the Cannery opens the Canteen.
Airline creating a buzz by offering $9 introductory fares
Friday, June 24, 2011
A discount air carrier that focuses leisure travelers and calls itself “the unbundling leader in the industry” is quickly becoming a competitive force at McCarran International Airport.
Spirit Airlines announced Thursday that it will begin flying between Las Vegas and San Diego in September. It will begin service Sept. 7 with two daily non-stop flights.
The Nevada Taxicab Authority took a rather-safe-than-sorry approach in approving up to 112 additional cabs on the streets for this weekend’s Electric Daisy Carnival music festival at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
A technology hardware recycling company that last year announced its intent to move to Southern Nevada, providing 50 new jobs when it opens in the fall, will get a $182,000 incentive package from the state.
Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air will operate two of its new Boeing 757 jets this summer on routes between Las Vegas and McAllen, Texas, and Rockford, Ill.
Spirit Airlines will begin flying two nonstop flights a day between Las Vegas and Portland, Ore., as the discount carrier continues its expansion at McCarran.
Massive, flashy events aren’t always great for Las Vegas
Monday, June 20, 2011
We’re entering some uncharted waters with a big event coming to town this month. This weekend, a first-ever-in-Vegas event lands here when the Electric Daisy Carnival debuts at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
In a city that has a gift for getting the big things wrong, McCarran International stands proud as a legitimate world-class airport.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Admit it, you’re getting tired of Las Vegas being at the top of all those bad lists. But fear not. We do have some sources of community pride that are as good as or better than any worldwide.
The Nevada Tourism Commission got its first view of its new-look agency that will include the Museums and History Division, the Nevada Arts Council and the Nevada Indian Commission when it consolidates in October.
Allegiant Air has filed a court petition to block the implementation of consumer protection regulations that an executive says could bite into the city’s visitation.
Tax dollars have to be a part of the financing package for a Las Vegas sports arena to be built, two panelists addressing a real estate association on tourism issues concurred today.
When McCarran International Airport’s $2.4 billion Terminal 3 opens a year from now, Terminal 2, the eight-gate charter and international concourse north of the airport’s main facility, will be torn down.
Authority seeks to boost foreign visitation to 30 percent
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority board of directors today approved contracts for 10 international offices and an extension of its advertising agreement with R&R Partners as it said goodbye to five elected officials, including its chairman, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman.
Can Las Vegas handle Broadway smash "The Book of Mormon?"
Monday, June 13, 2011
When the Smith Center for the Performing Arts opens in March, it’s expected to be a cultural magnet for downtown Las Vegas; An attraction that not only will serve residents, but also bring visitors to a venue expected to be among the best of its kind in the country.
Why does it seem that every logical idea in this town never sees the light of day? Go ahead and add a high-speed train connecting Southern California to Las Vegas to that dubious list. Now what?
Monday, June 13, 2011
Imagine the potential for Southern Nevada’s resort community if it has access to millions of customers within a relatively easy two-hour trip on a fast train. Southern California residents could make a last-minute decision to spend a weekend in Las Vegas and get here and back quickly and safely.
An administrative hearing officer has affirmed the firing of a former Nevada Taxicab Authority airport control officer for lying to superiors, insubordination and violation of agency policies.
When Steve Wynn instituted tip sharing among the casino floor’s dealers and supervisors in 2006, a huge legal and philosophical fight broke out.
Monday, June 6, 2011
It’s a transaction that occurs thousands of times a day in our city’s service industry-dominated berg: The tip. It can be a well-directed “thank you” or it can be a message to workers that their efforts didn’t measure up.
Delta Air Lines is a monstrous legacy air carrier with hundreds of flights to hundreds of cities worldwide, but with Las Vegas just another of its destinations, most people have never gotten overly excited about its presence here.
Clean Energy Fuels Corp. opened a public access station near McCarran International Airport today, generating hope that it will lead a transition of Southern Nevada’s fleet transportation companies away from gasoline-powered vehicles.
A report by a company that specializes in building corporate profits through ancillary revenue strategies has confirmed what many travelers to Las Vegas surmised: Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air is one of the top air carriers in the world at selling things to passengers besides their tickets.
Rossi Ralenkotter, the executive in charge of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, has had an internationally significant couple of weeks
Monday, May 30, 2011
It doesn’t happen very often that Rossi Ralenkotter, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, skips a meeting with a news media representative when it involves talking about tourism in Southern Nevada.
When I went to the first few sessions of this month’s Global Travel and Tourism Summit at Aria, I knew it was going to be different from any other industry conference I’d attended. I was keeping a close eye on how Las Vegans performed on the big stage.
The Nevada Gaming Commission approved the restructuring and licensing of locals casino giant Station Casinos LLC from bankruptcy in a standing-room-only special meeting Thursday.
A 31-page special section highlighting Nevada’s business community will greet the estimated 5 million readers of Delta Air Lines’ inflight magazine Sky next month.
Representatives of Clark County’s taxicab industry have reached the conclusion that there are no easy answers to developing a workable fuel surcharge on taxi rates to fit every circumstance.
The newly formed Corporation for Travel Promotion will begin sorting out in the next four months how it will raise money from the travel and tourism industry to match funds being raised by visa application fees to begin promoting the United States abroad.
LVCVA turnover, Allegiant’s moves, California parks, Paris and more.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Today, I’m “emptying my notebook” of some recent tourism stories. The makeup of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority will undergo a big change in July, thanks primarily to term limits and new mayors and councilmen taking office next month.
The decades-long crisis enveloping our city's taxis can be fixed in five quick steps.
Monday, May 23, 2011
For millions of tourists who visit Las Vegas every year, the first person they meet after getting off the plane is one of the city’s unofficial ambassadors to the world — a taxi driver, 9,500 of whom work in Clark County.
Mexican President Felipe Calderon, who has elevated tourism to a cabinet-level post in his country and made the industry’s success a national priority, proclaimed Mexico to be safe for visitors despite news accounts of bloody drug cartel wars.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano today asked representatives of the world’s tourism industry for suggestions to streamline airport security bottlenecks that discourage people from traveling. “We’re moving away from the one-size-fits-all security model,” Napolitano said on the last day of the event.
The set-up at most general conference gatherings is always the same: a stage with a podium or a head table for panelists and rows and rows of seats for the audience.
The Nevada Commission on Economic Development on Tuesday approved two controversial sales-and-use tax abatement requests from companies looking to develop in Clark County.
U.S. companies are losing millions of dollars in international commerce because the process of securing a travel visa to the United States is so cumbersome, a panel of experts concluded today.
It’s been called “the Olympics of the tourism industry.” For the host city – Las Vegas in this case – it has the potential to be an economic windfall. For the global tourism industry, it’s a significant gathering to hash out the issues of the day.
After the unexpected death of its promising leader, the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce is back at it again. We find out if 2011 is finally the year the chamber finds its mojo.
Monday, May 16, 2011
It's time for the business community to step up to the public policy plate. Companies watched Nevada’s economy wither as much of the prosperity that was built over the past two decades was reclaimed by the desert.
Finally, a simple, logical solution to fix what ails Las Vegas’ taxis.
Monday, May 16, 2011
By the time the Nevada Taxicab Authority finally restarted the conversation about illegal long-hauling of customers, it was too late for the board to recommend changes in the law to the current Legislature.
As repositories of the personal information and financial records of hundreds of thousands of guests enrolled in loyalty programs, Las Vegas resorts are an obvious target for terrorists seeking to finance their destructive plots, a security expert told a tourism safety conference Wednesday.
With the news of Osama bin Laden’s death and law enforcement warnings to stay vigilant still fresh, the timing couldn’t have been more appropriate for the 18th annual International Tourism Safety Conference at the Golden Nugget this week.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is extending its marketing reach to boost summer visits to Southern Nevada, unveiling a new promotional campaign that kicks off later this month. The organization’s board of directors got its first glimpse today of its “Life is short. Summer is shorter. Make a splash in Las Vegas” campaign.