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BRITISH AIRWAYS BRINGS SERVICE TO LAS VEGAS LVCVA, McCarran Work to Gain Daily Non-Stop from Heathrow

LAS VEGAS - Officials from British Airways joined representatives of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and McCarran International Airport to announce the world-renowned airline will begin daily, non-stop service from London Heathrow Airport this fall.

"This is the culmination of a decade of work to bring British Airways and its large feeder network throughout Europe to Las Vegas. Partnering these two globally recognized brands is part of our strategy to further expand the brand of Las Vegas throughout the world," said Cathy Tull, senior vice president of marketing for the LVCVA.

The new flights will be operated exclusively to and from Heathrow's Terminal 5 by a three-class Boeing 777, according to British Airways officials.

"Las Vegas will be British Airways' nineteenth city in the United States with daily flights to the United Kingdom," said Simon Talling-Smith, executive vice president Americas for British Airways. "And through our new Terminal 5, the largest and most modern airport terminal in Europe, customers will experience quick and convenient connections to and from other British Airways cities in the U.K., the European Continent, the Middle and Far East, Africa, India and Australia."

LVCVA and McCarran officials, who have been targeting service from both British Airways and Heathrow for more than a decade, are excited about the expanded reach throughout Europe that the new flight offers.

"McCarran International Airport is pleased to welcome British Airways to Las Vegas. We're confident its customers will appreciate new nonstop service between Heathrow and this exciting destination, and we welcome the additional traffic British Airways will bring to our community," said Randy Walker, Clark County director of aviation.

The flight will depart daily from Heathrow at 2:20 p.m., arriving in Las Vegas at 5:10 p.m. local time. The return flight departs Las Vegas nightly at 7 p.m. and arrives in London the following day at 12:50 p.m. The service will begin October 25.

CONVENTION CENTER CELEBRATES 50 YEARS LVCVA Marks Milestone With Time Capsule

LAS VEGAS - On April 12, 1959, the Las Vegas Convention Center opened its doors and welcomed a new audience to the resort destination - convention visitors.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), the entity created to operate the convention center and market Las Vegas as a convention and tourism destination, will mark the anniversary April 14 at their board of directors meeting.

"Southern Nevada leaders and the state legislature recognized an opportunity to attract a new visitor segment to boost mid-week and off season visitation," said Rossi Ralenkotter, president and CEO of the LVCVA. "Their vision helped Las Vegas become the top meetings and convention destination it is today."

The Las Vegas Convention Center regularly hosts some of the largest and most prestigious trade shows in the world, but it has been much more to the area and its residents. In its early days, the convention center often served as a community gathering place, hosting such events as concerts, sporting events, graduation ceremonies and more. (See attached list of highlights)

Today, the Las Vegas Convention Center hosts approximately 100 trade shows that attract 1.5 million visitors and generate more than $2 billion annually for the Southern Nevada economy. Together with the Sands Expo and Convention Center and the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, the Las Vegas Convention Center has helped make Las Vegas the No. 1 trade show destination in North America for 14 consecutive years.

The original center featured 90,000 square feet of exhibit space and 18 meeting rooms, but the marquee feature was the 20,340-square-foot rotunda on the front of the building. Today, the facility has grown to a 3.2 million-square-foot building with nearly 2 million square feet of exhibit space and more than 140 meeting rooms.

EFFORTS SHOW VEGAS MEANS BUSINESS LVCVA Provides Tools, Incentives To Encourage Business Travel

LAS VEGAS - Meetings are vital business tools and a critical element of the Las Vegas economy and will help stimulate our economy.

Recent publicity on the meetings and conventions has impacted the state of the industry. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) is working hard to provide its hotel partners, clients and the business community with the tools and incentives to offer balance to the discussion of meetings and continue productive business travel.

"We have to ensure that the value and importance of the meetings and convention industry is made clear," said Rossi Ralenkotter, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. "It is essential that we work hard to continue to promote business travel to Las Vegas."

The LVCVA recently launched a comprehensive, online toolkit to provide relevant and timely information, as well as resources, for clients and hotel partners to stay abreast of developments in the meetings industry. Clients can access statistics, client testimonials and other information showing the reasons events are successful in Las Vegas. Hotel partners will find tools to promote group travel to the destination, as well as updates on developments in business and Congress on the industry. The toolkit can be found at www.vegasmeansbusiness.com.

The LVCVA has taken a leadership role in the recent issue facing the meetings industry, reaching out to various stakeholder groups to stress the economic stimulus the industry provides to both the nation and Las Vegas. The organization has met with Congressional leaders on Capitol Hill, reached out to other elected officials to ensure the value of the industry is understood, conducted numerous media interviews, and partnered with industry associations and the hotel community to ensure any legislation on the industry is based on facts.

The LVCVA has launched several initiatives in the past several months to address the economic downturn, including a massive sales call effort, attendance promotion programs for existing clients, booking incentive programs for potential clients and industry outreach to travel and hotel partners.

To continue to entice meeting planners to plan events in Las Vegas, the LVCVA is running a booking incentive program that will award one planner with a new hybrid vehicle for any meeting booked and held between June 1 and August 31 through their eRFP program. Another incentive will award three VIP trips to Las Vegas for an event in the same date range.

Las Vegas is committed to promoting and protecting the travel and tourism industry, which includes the meetings and convention industry. The LVCVA continues to promote fair and balanced discussion of the industry to ensure it remains a critical tool for business and economic stimulus for the nation. The 22,000 meetings and conventions annually in Las Vegas provide 46,000 jobs and $8.5 billion in economic activity.

ABOUT THE LVCVA
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) is charged with marketing Southern Nevada as a tourism and convention destination worldwide, and also with operating the Las Vegas Convention Center and Cashman Center. With approximately 140,500 hotel rooms in Las Vegas alone and more than 9.8 million square feet of meeting and exhibit space citywide, the LVCVA's mission centers on attracting ever-increasing numbers of leisure and business visitors to the area. For more information, go to www.lvcva.com or www.VisitLasVegas.com.