the authority was planning to cut the current budget<\/a> by nearly $80 million.<\/p>\nBecause the hospitality industry accounts for a quarter of Nevada\u2019s workforce, the state relies on travelers, domestic and international, to keep the economy moving. Or, in this instance, the state will need to see the number of travelers increase in order to help bring back more of the jobs the state lost over the past year.<\/p>\n
Some of that will be starting to happen soon. He noted one of Vegas\u2019 largest trade shows, the World of Concrete, will return in June. It may not bring the 60,000 people it normally does, but the numbers will be significant, Hill said.<\/p>\n
The next step will need to be welcoming back the foreign visitors, who tend to stay and play longer than domestic guests. Those visitors make up about 15 percent of the travelers to Vegas, he noted.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd that has been almost completely shut down and has not really started to recover at this point,\u201d Hill said.<\/p>\n
Recovery May Take Years, MGM Exec Says<\/h2>\n
Perez, who presides over MGM\u2019s eight US regional properties, said those properties did not suffer as much as Las Vegas casinos, since they draw their visitors from the surrounding region. Still, the entire travel industry suffered through the past year.<\/p>\n
He said that travel spending declined by $500 billion last year, and because of the residual economic effect, that cost the US economy about $1.1 trillion.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the current pace, the traveling industry is not expected to fully recover on 2025. But we are hopeful the recovery will arrive much sooner,\u201d<\/strong> Perez said.<\/p>\nOne way he noted that Congress can help is by passing Senate Bill 477<\/a>, the Hospitality and Commerce Job Recovery Act of 2021. The legislation, sponsored by US Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nevada) and Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota), extends tax credits to keep workers on the payroll. It also creates tax incentives for hosting or attending a trade show. The bill also creates tax credits for certain travel expenses for US families.<\/p>\n\u201cWe also welcome the safe and science-based easing of government restrictions, which will permit us to bring back more of our world-renowned amenities to a greater number of guests, allowing us to bring back more of our employees,\u201d Perez said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Las Vegas and the gaming community had the ear of US senators on Tuesday, as the Senate Commerce subcommittee on Tourism, Trade, and Export Promotion met for the first time. Steve Hill, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, and Jorge Perez, regional portfolio president for MGM Resorts International, were two […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":170515,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,61],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Senate Subcommittee Hears How COVID Hurt Vegas, Gaming Industry<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n