Vegas ‘Doesn’t Work Well Without a Crowd,’ Says LVCVA CEO

hope to be able to speed that up,” said Hill. “People in this industry need that. They need their jobs back.” The first step in the recovery "will be moving beyond the health crisis,” he said. “Continuing the vaccination process is the key to making that happen. We need to get to the point now where socially distancing is no longer necessary. Like many destinations, Las Vegas doesn’t work well without a crowd.” LVCVA gets a “good portion” of its funding through a “fixed percentage” of Las Vegas hotel room taxes, said Hill. “It’s a good indicator of the health of our tourism and hospitality industry.” LVCVA “typically” gets about $300 million annually from that funding and expects about a third of its “normal revenue” in the fiscal year ending June 30, he said. “We are projecting next year that we will receive about 70% of our normal room tax revenue. So we will show improvement, but it’s only about halfway of where we need to be for the next 12 months.” The June 8-10 World of Concrete construction industry show at the Las Vegas Convention Center is the “first large trade show” in the U.S. returning to an in-person format since the pandemic began, said Hill. It’s a show that “typically” draws about 60,000 attendees, he said. “We don’t think it will be that size, but it will be a major show, and we look forward not only to that show returning, but it’s serving as evidence, an example, of how to do this right.”