The U.S. Travel Association reports record-setting attendance at the 45th annual IPW (formerly International Pow Wow) in Las Vegas. Nearly 6,400 total delegates from the U.S. and 70 other countries are present at the Las Vegas Convention Center, including 1,300 international and domestic buyers and nearly 500 media. The event is estimated to generate more than $3.5 billion in travel to the U.S. over the next three years and at least $350 million in future economic impact for the host city.
"After a dip during the recent recession, America's travel industry is back with great strength," said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association. "IPW has experienced double-digit growth over the last three years, and literally billions of dollars in deals are being signed this week with tour operators that will bring more international visitors into the United States."
The association says every major American city and state tourism office attends IPW, as well as attractions, museums, amusement parks and other travel businesses. These groups market themselves to the world's top international tour operators that sell travel to the U.S. IPW pre-schedules meetings through a sophisticated online matching system to maximize productivity; 90,000-plus business meetings were scheduled for the three-day event.
"At IPW, buyers and sellers are able to conduct business that would otherwise be generated only through an exhaustive number of around-the-world trips," said Dow. "A recent Oxford Economics report we commissioned as part of our Travel Effect campaign notes that in-person meetings double the likelihood of closing a deal, and U.S. companies experience nearly $10 in revenues for every dollar invested in business travel."
The report also noted that U.S. businesses are investing record levels on domestic business travel, spending an estimated $225 million in 2012 and surpassing a historic peak set in 2007. Business travel expenditures generated 1.9 million jobs, $59 billion in personal income and $35 billion in tax revenues last year.
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