Vegas looks for ways to be “new†again
Las Vegas may have to reinvent itself. Again.
It’s done it before when four decades ago it tried to lure family travelers. That idea crapped out.
Vegas returned to gambling. But there have been slowdowns in part by a lack of consumer confidence but even more by the proliferation of other places to gamble. Vegas long ago lost its reputation as the only real game in town that combined gambling with glitz.
“Newness, which has long driven Las Vegas growth, will not be part of the immediate future,” said Bill Eadington, director of UNR’s Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming. He told the Las Vegas Sun:
“Las Vegas may become yesterday’s news unless it can figure out a new way to reinvent itself.”
Even the city’s long-successful slogan, “What happens here, stays here,” may be no match for future success.
Looking ahead at what to do, the local CVB just wrapped up one of its most ambitious research projects.
The conclusion, said Cathy Tull, senior vice president of marketing: “People want transparency, value and variety.”
Travelers want value packages that allow them to pick and choose what to do and where to stay, Tull said. An all-day restaurant pass that can be used at various resorts owned by the same company was cited as one example.
Las Vegas should focus its marketing on people who need an excuse to travel here. In addition, that focus should be on visitors who know little about the city, the survey found.
New ads are dealing with those two issues, CVB officials say. They will tell visitors what they can do here with specific examples rather than generalities such as “stays here.”
“There are 41 million people who are not opposed to Vegas and have money to travel, but lack an understanding of what Vegas has to offer,” said Tull.
Might other areas that are gambling-reliant also focus on similar areas blunting the Vegas approach? It’s always possible.
By Kieron Keady
David
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