ToyFest not coming back to Las Vegas until 2022
At least one convention thinks March is too soon for an in-person convention in Las Vegas.
ToyFest announced Thursday that it had canceled plans to be at South Point in 2021, and won’t be returning to Las Vegas until Feb. 28, 2022.
The Western Toy & Hobby Representatives Association Board, a nonprofit that produces the three-day event, had previously announced that the March show would be postponed, with dates to be announced at a later time.
A Thursday statement from WTHRA President Lawrence Nissen said the decision to cancel the 2021 event came after “much deliberation,” but organizers want to bring the show back once it can offer full amenities, including sociable show-openings, ceremonies and dinners.
The show brought in more than 400 exhibitors and nearly 900 attendees in 2019. The 2021 show would have been its ninth in Las Vegas.
The cancellation is a ominous sign for the local convention industry’s road to recovery. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has not counted any convention attendance in Las Vegas since March, and experts say the industry will be among the slowest to bounce back.
The absence of the lucrative industry has resulted in huge economic losses for Southern Nevada. Convention visitors in Las Vegas spent 18 percent more that leisure visitors per trip on average, and their spending directly supported 43,500 jobs, $2 billion in wages and had a total economic output of $6.6 billion in 2019, according to an April LVCVA report.
Contact Bailey Schulz at bschulz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @bailey_schulz on Twitter.