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Dive Overview:
According to hospitality information provider Knowland, sports tourism led the increase in meetings in Las Vegas, which had the highest year-over-year increase in events of any U.S. market in June. Among the top 25 U.S. markets, St. Louis, Nashville, Orlando and Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida, were second only to Las Vegas in year-over-year event growth for the month. Las Vegas also led the top 25 U.S. markets in event growth in May. While sports tourism has been a big driver of leisure tourism in recent months, the industry is also driving meetings and event travel, according to Knowland data.
Dive Insights:
Meetings volume in Las Vegas increased 22% in June compared to a year ago as sports entertainment “jumped into the top five industry segments” of meetings, according to Knowland.
The surge was primarily due to NHL Draft-related meetings. Las Vegas also saw meetings in the National Association, Technology, Training/Education and Wedding sectors in June. (In May, the increase in meetings in Las Vegas was primarily due to technology events.)
St. Louis, the second fastest growing market, saw a 12% increase in events in June compared to last year.
In terms of secondary markets, driven by events in the finance and banking sector, Louisville, Kentucky recorded the strongest year-over-year growth in June. Louisville was followed by Madison, Wisconsin, Sacramento and Pittsburgh, California, and the Norfolk-Virginia Beach, Virginia area.
Growing interest in experiential travel is leading to a boom in sports tourism, Sachin Abadani, hospitality leader for EY Americas, and Michael Selinger, senior manager of strategy and transactions at EY, told Hotel Dive in May.
US hotel companies are also getting in on the action, with Wyndham Hotels and Resorts teaming up with Minor League Baseball to allow loyalty program members to redeem points for ballgame tickets, while Marriott Bonvoy has teamed up with the US Soccer Federation to offer special fan experiences this summer.
Over the past year, the Las Vegas resort operator achieved record ADRs for the Formula One Grand Prix in November and Super Bowl 53 in February.
