Nevada tourism targets foreigners

The numbers, Bruce Bommarito says, are compelling: Some 200 million Chinese traveled overseas last year, and they spent an average of $5,200 per person on each of those trips.

Plus, the culture has an affinity for gaming, says Bommarito, who is the executive director of the Nevada Commission on Tourism.

Those are the sorts of numbers that led Nevada in recent days to open a tourism office in Bejing.

The only other state to have launched a tourism office in China in Hawaii, and Bommarito figures that it's worth plenty for Nevada to be among the first in line to woo Chinese travelers.

It's part of Bommarito's plan give visitors as many reasons as possible to visit Nevada and make targeted pitches to as many separate demographic groups as possible.

Hispanic travelers, for instance.

The state tourism commission is discussing publication of a Spanish-language publication to attract Hispanic tourists as it considers the market to be one of the most attractive on its radar screen.

"The Hispanic market is huge and growing fast," Bommarito said a few days ago in a wide-ranging conversation about the future of Nevada's tourism industry.

While foreign tourism holds great potential, the state's tourism chief said that its success in northern Nevada depends in part upon the growth of air service at Reno/Tahoe International Airport.

"When we're talking about the world market, that's a really important aspect," he said.

At the same time, Bommarito said northern Nevada is likely to be a strong beneficiary of the state's year-old "adventure tourism" campaign.

That effort spotlights the state's outdoor adventures everything from rock climbing to skiing and golf.

The campaign, he said, arose from the observation that Nevada, the nation's most mountainous state, didn't draw as many outdoors lovers as Utah, Colorado and its other Western neighbors.

"We're trying to take a market that was underperforming and add it to the brand that is Nevada," he said.

And those outdoors-oriented visitors are an attractive demographic.

"That adventure traveler is not a poor traveler," Bommarito said.

The kayakers who will visit the new whitewater course in downtown Reno, for instance, have an average household income over $50,000 a year.

The 35-54 age group predominates among kayakers.

Another strength of the tourism industry in northern Nevada will the region's ability to produce big special events ranting from Hot August Nights to the Reno Air Races.

"Reno does festivals like nobody else," Bommarito said.

Golf is another segment of Nevada's tourism industry that can attract more visitors to the state.

"Arizona has made a living in golf," Bommarito said.

"South Carolina has made a living in golf.

Nevada has more than 100 golf courses in the state, and we can make a living in golf."

A third key element of the state's tourism marketing in recent months has been a concerted effort to woo RV travelers.

That's particularly important in rural areas of the state, where traditional tourism infrastructure such as abundant motel rooms is rare.

In all, Bommarito said, the state's marketing efforts have a common theme: Provide potential visitors with as many reasons as possible to visit Nevada.

That doesn't mean, however, that state tourism officials place less emphasis on the gaming and nightlife that is the heart of Nevada's tourism industry.

Again, statistics tell the story for Bommarito: About 60 percent of the state's retail sales are tied directly to tourism, and twothirds of the tourism is tied directly to gaming.

Despite challenges to Nevada's gaming supremacy from locations across the nation, gaming continues to grow in the state.

Then, too, Bommarito said it's smart for the state to keep its eye on gamingrelated tourism because of Nevada's heavy investment in the industry.

The threat of Indian casinos in northern California, he said, may be limited because each of those casinos is an isolated property.

"They're building casinos.

They're not building destinations," Bommarito said.

"Can you walk down the street to another casino?"

At the same time, he said the advent of Indian gaming is a strong reminder that Nevada must continuously market itself.

"Only if you quit does it beat you," he said.

"We have to be constantly getting new markets."

Bommarito, a 28-year veteran of the hospitality and gaming industry, has headed the Nevada Commission on Tourism since 2001.

Before taking the job with the state, he most recently was vice president of operations at Caesars Tahoe hotel and casino at Stateline for three years.