If there’s any city in the U.S. that needs the coronavirus to go away faster than Las Vegas, I can’t imagine which one it would be. But the reports out of Sin City appear rather bleak these days.
My friends at TravelPulse in the U.S. today reported that some in Vegas “would go so far as to say the situation is dire.”
“When the Las Vegas Sands reported a second-quarter earnings loss of almost $1 billion earlier this month, Sands President and COO Rob Goldstein said on the call: ‘We’re in a world of hurt here in terms of Las Vegas. I’ve never felt more gloomy than I do today about what’s happening in Las Vegas.’”
Citing an investigation by the group ProPublica, the Reno Gazette Journal has a report that says tourists visiting The Strip “could be fueling the pandemic.”
“In this rush to reopen and reposition the economic activities, all we’ve been doing is spreading and amplifying the reach of this disease,” said Oscar Alleyne, an epidemiologist and chief program officer with the National Association of County and City Health Officials.
Six public health experts told ProPublica that casinos are a high-risk environment for COVID-19 – ‘a feeding ground for COVID-19.”
“There is a serious opportunity for spreading the virus, especially for people who are mildly sick or don’t know they’re sick,” said Crystal Watson, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “We’ve seen big outbreaks kicked off by these types of situations.”
TravelPulse says Las Vegas drew 1,065,100 visitors in June, down 70.5 % from June of 2019.
A New President and CEO for Destination Canada
Marsha Walden
There’s a new face in charge at the organization that promotes Canadian tourism.
Veteran tourism worker Marsha Walden takes over from interim President and CEO David Robinson, who took over when former chief David Goldstein left the job.
“Marsha is a well-respected and trusted member of the Team Canada tourism community,” said Ben Cowan-Dewar, Destination Canada’s chair of the board. “Her experience and impressive record of success will be an asset to Destination Canada, and the sector as a whole, as we build a more resilient visitor economy,”
Walden joins Destination Canada from Destination British Columbia, where she served as the president and CEO since 2013.
I don’t believe I’ve met her, but Destination British Columbia has consistently been a leader in Canada when it comes to marketing and promotion of tourism.
“Tourism goes well beyond the one in 10 jobs it creates nationwide; tourism intersects economic, social, environment and community development,” said Walden. “This is a critical time for the sector and I am thrilled to be joining Destination Canada as we work to support a resilient visitor economy.”
Canada’s minister of economic development and official languages, the Honourable Mélanie Joly, announced Walden’s appointment this week.
“We know the tremendous contribution of the tourism sector to our communities, large and small. It supports good jobs in rural areas, small towns, Indigenous communities and big cities from coast to coast to coast. I look forward to working with Marsha Walden, whose excellent track record in this sector will be a tremendous asset that will help steer Destination Canada throughout the recovery of our country’s visitor economy,” the minister said.
In 2019, a record 22.1 million visitors travelled to Canada. Tourism expenditures reached an estimated CAD$105.1 billion last year.
On 31 May, 2020, Destination Canada announced a new partnership with the provinces and territories to deliver locally led marketing programs encouraging Canadians to discover their own backyard. Over the next 18 months, Destination Canada has promised to invest $30 million with provincial and territorial marketing organisations to support the recovery of communities.
