Tony Hsieh talks Life is Beautiful, Downtown Project at conference

Las Vegas Review-Journal

7 years ago

Part of Meow Wolf’s Art Motel installation at 2017’s Life Is Beautiful festival.

Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh speaks at the Travel Leaders Network 2018 EDGE International Conference at Caesars Palace at 3570 S. Las Vegas Blvd. in Las Vegas on Friday, June 15, 2018. Bill Hughes/Las Vegas Review-Journal

Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh watches a video from the Life is Beautiful festival during his presentation at the Travel Leaders Network 2018 EDGE International Conference at Caesars Palace at 3570 S. Las Vegas Blvd. in Las Vegas on Friday, June 15, 2018. Bill Hughes/Las Vegas Review-Journal

Tony Hsieh, CEO of Las Vegas-based online retailer Zappos, pitched a room of over 2,000 travel agents on a Las Vegas destination to add to their clients’ calendars.

That destination: the three-day music festival Life is Beautiful he helps pay for.

Hsieh spoke Friday as part of the Travel Leaders Network Edge International conference at Caesars Palace. The conference goes through Saturday.

The music festival was one example of projects Hsieh talked about as part of his downtown revitalization efforts.

Hsieh created the Downtown Project in 2012 as an investment vehicle to revitalize the area. He told the crowd about successful businesses the group has invested in, such as the restaurant Eat and the Container Park shopping center.

About 60 percent of the $350 million Downtown Project budget focused on real estate while $50 million each was meant for small businesses, tech startups and education, arts and culture.

“I can’t wait to see what unfolds next,” he said.

Contact Wade Tyler Millward at 702-383-4602 or wmillward @reviewjournal.com. Follow @wademillward on Twitter