Zona de Azar USA – Many Jobs Lost when Las Vegas Trade Show Industry Shuts Down

USA.-March  30, 2020 www.zonadeazar.com The U.S. Travel Association says 5.9 million jobs would be lost in the travel industry, which includes the meetings and conventions sector. That represents a $900 billion loss in 2020 — seven times the amount lost in the 9/11 attacks.

Nevada’s Governor’s Office on Economic Development said 400,000 lost tourism industry jobs, which includes the meetings, conventions and trade show sector, would result in a $34 billion loss in the state.

While some trade shows are finding alternative dates instead of canceling, others, including NAB, aren’t. That will probably prevent Las Vegas, which was anticipating 2020 would eclipse 2019’s record 6.6 million convention visitors, from setting any records.

Lost jobs

Among the contracted workers who miss out when a show cancels, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority:

— Electricians, plumbers, carpet layers and various labor trade workers who build exhibitors’ booths and other show components.

— Service providers that work with exhibitors, including Cox Communications for broadband services, Centerplate for food and beverage, FedEx for transporting goods and documents and American Express for on-site financial transactions.

— Security officers, hired by show managers to ensure access and control of show floors, assisting LVCVA security officers.

— Transportation workers who shuttle conventioneers from hotels to convention centers. Taxicab and ride-hailing service drivers aren’t making as many runs between hotels and McCarran International Airport.

— Cleaners hired by show managers to keep exhibit floors clean in addition to LVCVA custodial services tasked with overall facility cleanliness.

— Floral decorators to enhance booth appearance.

— Tent companies used by exhibitors that set up in parking lots and other external locations.

— Furniture providers used by show managers and exhibitors to create office environments for business meetings.

— Voice and acting talent to deliver monologues about products in specialized booth presentations.

— Photographers hired by show management and exhibitors to memorialize events.

— Other tourism-related companies. Thousands of visitors — especially from overseas — take advantage of Las Vegas’ proximity to the Grand Canyon to take helicopter trips before or after a convention or on slow days during the show.

— Registration staff hired to register exhibitors and attendees, distribute credentials and provide wayfinding assistance.

— Audio-visual production professionals to provide various display and messaging services for exhibitors.

— Freight companies to deliver large booth components. Truck drivers often arrive early in Las Vegas and park their rigs before they are marshaled to deliver to exhibit halls in well-timed and choreographed sequences.

— Temporary laborers to staff booths in addition to their own staffs.

“The list goes on and on and on,” said David DuBois, CEO of the International Association of Exhibitions and Events, an organization affiliated with the $300 billion global meetings industry. “We refer to it as (the industry) having a long tail, and in this case, it’s an ugly tail.”

Impact of cancellation

How long will workers be affected in Southern Nevada?

It’s a fair question that two of the city’s largest event management companies — Freeman Company LLC and GES-Global Experience Specialists — can’t answer.

“We haven’t communicated at all with employees about when we expect them to be back, because we don’t know,” said Lea Lashley, communications director for Dallas-based Freeman, which was contracted to manage NAB. “A lot of shows have canceled and a lot of people have postponed. We understand that a lot of our customers don’t know how this is going to impact their business and they don’t know what they’re going to do next. We don’t talk on behalf of our customers, so we’re not going to do that now,” she said.

Freeman’s CEO, Bob Priest-Heck, said in a statement that among the options the company is keeping is providing support for online meetings.

No answers

A spokeswoman for GES also said it’s too early to project when and how shows would return.

“We’re working with our clients,” said Detra Page of Las Vegas-based GES. “If they need to postpone, we’re assisting them to reschedule their events. But now, it’s too soon to predict when the shows will be back as they were.”

A Harris poll conducted the weekend of March 21-23 indicated it could take two to three months for Americans to attend large social gatherings once government restrictions are lifted.

According to the poll, after two to three months, nearly a fifth of Americans say they would host or attend a large social gathering (22 percent), go to the movies (21 percent), greet people with a handshake (21 percent), stay in a hotel (20 percent), or go to a sporting event (17 percent).

Fifteen percent of Americans say it will take two to three months for them to be able to visit a casino or take public transportation again.

Uncertainties surrounding the novel coronavirus leave the IAEE’s DuBois with nothing definitive.

“I’m an association executive with a hospitality industry background of 40 years, and I’m not even going to guess how long it’s going to be,” he said. “We have moved events out of March, April and May into the fall, so my best guess is that it’s going to last through the end of May and it’ll take three to six months for companies to build their business back up to the way it was in 2019, and it may even take longer than that.”

Dwindling labor force

DuBois noted that with contract labor dwindling now, there haven’t been workers to dismantle some of the exhibits still standing from the ConExpo-Con/Agg construction equipment trade show that ended March 14.

A local contract laborer, Henderson resident Robert Reinecke, said he’s been told not to expect any work until Sept. 1.

“The problem is, no one has a real answer as of now,” he said. “If shows decide to start up again May 1, we will be busy, but it usually takes at least 60-90 days to pull a show together with all parties involved. So even if we get the go-ahead the first week of May, the first show would most likely be at the end of July or August.”

Reinecke’s solution will be to take a long trip in his self-contained van to visit family members scattered across the country.

But he admits that not everybody has that kind of flexibility and that thousands will be hurting if the industry doesn’t rebound quickly.

Editó: @_fonta   www.zonadeazar.com