Published On: January 21, 2001
The 120 guests who attended the second annual SMG South Shore Tourism Conference, held Wednesday, January 3, 2001, gained valuable insight with regard to the many exciting changes occurring throughout South Shore emanating from the Redevelopment enhancements. The annual conference, andquot;Understanding the Future of South Shore Tourismandquot; is designed to educate the community about the current visitor market and the pivotal strategic issues impacting the future of South Shore tourism. Conference developer and host, the Strategic Marketing Group, collaborated with South Shore's leading organizations to create a comprehensive program to help further explain the key challenges and opportunities facing South Shore and to allow local businesses, as well as the entire community, to maximize efforts in order to be more competitive. Conference presentations included updated data and information about the key economic indicators such as room nights sold, gaming revenues and transportation, as well as a review of the competition and regional and national trends that impact South Shoreandrsquo;s tourism market. To help explain South Shoreandrsquo;s tourism marketing efforts, the two primary tourism promotion organizations, the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority and the Tahoe-Douglas Visitors Authority, outlined each organizationandrsquo;s specific roles and programs for their complimentary tourism promotional efforts. Keynote speaker, Bill Eadington, Professor of Economics and Director of the Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming at the University of Nevada, Reno, discussed andldquo;The Impact of California Indian Gamingandrdquo; and its effect on the South Shore gaming industry. Eadington is an internationally recognized authority on the legalization and regulation of commercial gambling, and has written extensively on issues relating to the economic and social impacts of commercial gaming. Eadington provided an in-depth, pragmatic look at the effect the nearby California Indian facilities will have
