Meeting and convention industry leaders in Las Vegas united to celebrate Global Meetings Industry Day (GMID) by serving local charitable organisations, signifying the positive impact meetings have on the community. Conceived by the U.S. Travel Association (USTA), the premier advocacy association for the travel industry, GMID is designed to showcase the impact of the meeting industry on the U.S. economy. According to USTA 2022 saw nearly $100bn in meeting and events-related travel spending in the U.S., critical revenue to national and local economies that directly supports more than half a million jobs. “Our local tourism industry is only as strong as our community,” said Lisa Messina, chief sales officer of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA). “Today is our opportunity to thank our trade show, meeting and convention customers for choosing Las Vegas.” To celebrate GMID, the LVCVA coordinated an effort for local resort sales teams and Las Vegas meeting and convention customers to give back to a variety of local charities:
- Caesars Entertainment employees assembled 2,000 hygiene kits for Communities in Schools
- Wynn Las Vegas employees served meals to more than 250 people at Catholic Charities. They also joined Virgin Las Vegas employees and area meeting and convention customers to fill 1,296 backpacks at Three Square for food-insecure Clark County School District students
- MGM Resorts International, Station Casinos, Fontainebleau Las Vegas and Resorts World Las Vegas employees assembled more than 5,000 hygiene kits for Catholic Charities
- Team Members at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas organised more than 1,000 meals for HERO School, City Impact Las Vegas, Las Vegas Rescue Mission, and New Day Adult Care
“Since its inception, GMID has always been about making a difference and supporting communities which is also a core tenet for Caesars Entertainment,” said Kelly Gleeson Smith, vice president of sales at Caesars Entertainment. Las Vegas hosted nearly 5m convention attendees in 2022 and, according to the city’s venues, is looking forward to an even stronger events schedule in 2023. During a normal year, spending by visitors attending conventions directly supports 43,000 jobs in Las Vegas and results in a direct economic impact of $6.6bn. On the impact of the Meetings industry, Tony Yousfi, chief sales officer, The Venetian® Resort Las Vegas, added: “Meetings matter. Not just because of the jobs they create and the impact on the economy, but because of their influence in our communities.” [su_image_carousel source=”media: 2048597,2048596,2048594,2048593,2048592″ limit=”20″ slides_style=”default;” controls_style=”light;” crop=”none” columns=”1″ adaptive=”no” spacing=”yes” align=”center” max_width=”1170″ “max_height_770″ captions=”no” arrows=”yes” dots=”no” link=”” target=”blank” autoplay=”2″ speed=”medium” image_size=”full” outline=”yes” class=””]
