Luxury Travel Advisor - November 2008 - (Page 88)

LUXURY TRA VEL EXPO Celebrate 10 years of Luxury Travel Expo A True Partnership Planning for BY BERNADETTE MARI Success LUXURY TRAVEL EXPO ARRIVES IN LAS VEGAS FOR ITS 10TH ANNIVERSARY from December 2-4 at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Luxury Travel Expo is proud to share its success with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino. The show promises to be the best yet with a multitude of networking events, educational opportunities and a vast exhibit hall filled with more than 500 leading luxury travel suppliers. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) (www.lvcva.com) 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 136,000 hotel rooms in Las Vegas alone and more than 9.7 million square feet of meeting and exhibit space citywide, the LVCVA’s mission centers on attracting leisure and business visitors to the area. Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino (www.mandalaybay.com) is a AAA Four-Diamond destination resort set on 60 lush acres and offering 3,635 newly remodeled rooms and suites. Mandalay Bay Beach, an 11-acre tropical pool environment, features real California sand, a wave pool and the only climate-controlled, poolside gaming in the city. The property also features the 12,000-seat Mandalay Bay Events Center, award-winning restaurants, Shark Reef Aquarium and the 1.5-million-square-foot Mandalay Bay Convention Center—the largest convention center on the Las Vegas Strip. Mandalay Bay’s brands include THEhotel, an all-suite hotel featuring 1,117 luxurious one-bedroom suites, the BATHHOUSE Spa and Mandalay Place, a collection of unique boutiques and restaurants. L uxury Travel Expo is right around the corner and, amazingly, more than a year has passed since we began planning our 10th anniversary event. Working in the tradeshow world for the past eight years, focusing mainly on the restaurant industry, I have planned many events from small roundtables to major industry must-attend tradeshows. Curiously, there was always a camaraderie missing from the restaurant shows. On the other hand, Luxury Travel Expo creates and fosters longlasting relationships. I remember walking the exhibit hall, greeting agents, helping administer rehearsals, and the like. There was such a great buzz going around that I couldn’t put my finger on it. The further along we went, the more I realized what it was: Relationships were being fostered from the time attendees walked in the door until the time they departed Las Vegas. Being so used to my past life where the handshake was standard, I was amazed to witness the warmth and true hospitality from luxury travel advisors and exhibitors. Each Luxury Travel Expo thereafter has continued to excite me. Just like the itineraries you plan for your clients, we also do for the expo. During the past year, we have spent many hours getting ready to welcome you to Las Vegas on December 2nd. We meet week after week to ensure we have created the most fruitful event for you so you can depart on December 4th brimming with new ideas. Whether its brainstorming our 10th anniversary marketing campaign, reaching out to exhibitors or inviting expert industry speakers to participate in our programs, we make sure to keep tabs on what you, the luxury advisor, want to experience while spending your valuable time away from the office. We are truly excited to welcome you all to Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino this December. Thank you to all who support the event each year, including our advisory board, luxury travel advisors, suppliers, sponsors, supporters, our host hotel and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. We wish you great success for 2009. Bernadette Mari (bmari@questex.com) is the marketing manager for Luxury Travel Expo. LUXURY TRAVEL EXPO The Signature Event for the Luxury Travel Industry Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas Dec. 2-4, 2008 www.LuxuryTravelExpo.com 88 LUXURY TRAVEL ADVISOR | November 2008 http://www.lvcva.com http://www.mandalaybay.com http://www.LuxuryTravelExpo.com http://www.LuxuryTravelExpo.com

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Luxury Travel Advisor - November 2008 Contents Publisher's Letter Editor's Letter Las Vegas Australia Virginia's Northern Neck Posh Penthouses K Club Four Seasons Florence Entertaining Luxury Caribbean Spas The Pulse Jetset Report Luxury Lifestyles Just Back Luxury Travel Expo Sightings Source List Virtuoso Insert

Luxury Travel Advisor - November 2008

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