Governor’s Tourism Conference returning to Las Vegas after hiatus

The Governor’s Conference on Tourism, a two-day gathering of tourism leaders, will return in October this year after a four-year hiatus, Travel Nevada, the state’s branded destination marketing organization announced.

This year’s conference is scheduled Oct. 29-30 at the Rio in Las Vegas.

Overseen by the Nevada Commission on Tourism headed by Lt. Gov. Stavros Anthony, the annual conference was discontinued in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic shutdown.

For years, the conference alternated between Las Vegas and Reno in December or November with attendees meeting with state leaders to discuss issues involving tourism.

This year, the event’s theme is “Hospitality the Nevada Way” and topic discussions will include sustainable travel, transportation in the Silver State and using technology in the traveler journey. Speakers will include Zeek Coleman, vice president-Americas, of Wayne, Pennsylvania-based Tourism Economics Inc. and Brice Esplin of Leave No Trace, an outdoor education non-profit.

Tourism is an important piece of Nevada’s economy generating an economic impact of $83.7 billion in 2023 and accounting for 21 percent of all state jobs.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.