Survey finds executives upbeat on tourism

For all the troubles they're supposed to be having, you'd expect executives in the gaming, tourism and recreation industry in Reno and Sparks to be glum about their prospects.

Hardly so, finds a new survey by the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada.

The survey of 21 companies found they plan to invest $211 million in new facilities during the next three years and expect to see continued modest growth in employment.

The EDAWN study promises confidentiality to individual executives, so it didn't include details about the companies that plan the big investments.

But Gail Conkey, EDAWN's director of business services, said the $211 million includes three or four major projects on the drawing boards.

The 21 companies said they plan to add a total of 827,250 square feet of space and boost employment by 355.More than 85 percent of the executives surveyed by EDAWN volunteers during the first quarter said they expect their companies' employment to remain stable.

Conkey said EDAWN officials were struck by the growth in convention and meetings business in Reno and Sparks in recent months, growth that helps offset some of the weakness in gaming-related tourism.

The number of people attending conventions or business meetings in Washoe County during 2004, Conkey said,was up 13.7 percent from the previous year.

Overall visitor counts were up by less than 1 percent.

"We do a lot of business meetings here," she said."That's the result of the availability of flights and the affordability of hotels."

And the growing number of business meetings in the area provides a boost to efforts to diversify the region's economy.

When executives come to town for a convention, they get a first-hand look that begins to change outdated perceptions about the region, Conkey said.

A second noteworthy finding, Conkey said, is the importance of technological innovation in the tourism and gaming industry.

Fully 80 percent of the executives surveyed by EDAWN said their companies are changing their uses of technology.

That's the highest figure of any of the industry groups surveyed by EDAWN in the past couple of years.

"As gaming proliferates through the U.S., casinos know that management of frequentplayer databases is critical for repeat and increased customer visits," Conkey said.

Executives in tourism-related industries are heartened, she said, by the successes of the campaign of the Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority to reposition the area as "America's Adventure Place." That campaign has fit closely with the Nevada Commission on Tourism efforts to sell the state's outdoor adventures in addition to its gaming attractions.

The gaming and tourism executives surveyed said they like the productivity of the area's workforce ranging it 3.5 on a scale of 5 but worry about the quality, stability and availability of workers.

Conkey said the worries are "indicative of the challenges employers face in this industry that typically pays lower wages as compared to other industries." At the same time, the quality of the workforce and the region's educational system were among the community strengths cited by the executives.

Other community strengths, they said, include the region's growing economy and its location close to other visitor attractions.

Along with worries about their workforce, the executives who were surveyed said the effects of local politics particularly on growth-related questions is their biggest concern.