Las Vegas - 3
Languid in a riva, above. Back to Italy? No, return as every August to the great US of A.
Virtuoso Travel Week – VTW – once again descended on Las Vegas, this year 8-14 August. It seems to grow in scope annually. It is now held concurrently in four hotels, ARIA, Bellagio, The Cosmopolitan and Vdara, all MGM - all neighbours, with some internal connections but not enough: trying to walk to/from ARIA involves at least seven minutes’ sauna exterior between the frigidation of the rest of the complex.
Yes, to see the face of luxury travel in the next few years, head to Las Vegas. The 38th annual Virtuoso Travel Week was essential. The official tally was 4,800 delegates. But since some people were coming and going, it's impossible accurately to assess how many were there. Even to the seasoned it still overwhelms. Some years ago, it was all in Bellagio. Now it spreads over Bellagio plus its conjoined MGM siblings. This means there's a terrific amount of moving around. The suppliers, mostly hotels, but increasingly complemented by waterborne accommodation and some destinations, stay put. Advisors have to move every ten minutes.
Who are these advisors? There are youngsters, new to the business, and mostly female, may not have experience, but they show super enthusiasm and business and technology skills. Then there's the established generation, the inner circle. They’ve been everywhere important, they know everyone. And the suppliers feel at ease with them, whereas in some instances, there's a conversational generation gap between suppliers and buyers.
It’s all so action-packed the only view of the real world is from your hotel window, below. But it’s obviously more than worth it. One top GM, based in US, said he had excellent meetings this year (last year the computer-generated algorithm paired him with far too many unsuitables who didn’t even want to mention USA to their clients - Trump, you know). Now, it seems, those same people know they somehow have to get on with their lives….
