Las Vegas is partnering with SEMA to maximize the experience of SEMA Show
attendees.
The city of Las Vegas has teamed up with SEMA to create various programs and incentives to ensure that exhibitors and buyers at the upcoming SEMA Show, held November 4-7, 2008, at the Las Vegas Convention Center, in Las Vegas, Nevada, attain maximum profitability from the event and the entire Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week.
As part of the heightened collaboration between the city and SEMA, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has agreed to place outbound calls to more than 15,000 non-registered buyers from past Shows. According to Chris Meyer, director of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the purpose of the calls is to reassure the marketplace that the SEMA Show and AAIW continues to be a vibrant, must-attend event, despite current market conditions, and to facilitate this year’s attendance.
“There are a lot of small retailers out there that are hurting, and we need to assure them that the city of Las Vegas and SEMA are partnering even deeper than we have been to make Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week the best possible week it can be,” Meyer said.
In an effort to accommodate businesses with tightened budgets, SEMA is actively renegotiating hotel room rates for Show attendees and have so far reduced the costs at Circus Circus and Trump International Hotel and Tower. The new rates will be retroactive for attendees of both the SEMA Show and the AAPEX Show, which will also be held during AAIW. In addition, hotel packages are being arranged that will offer incentives on food, shows and various other hotel-related expenses.
SEMA has also negotiated with convention contractor Freeman to deliver enhanced pricing and value-added packages on show-related production essentials, including improved pricing on shipping and drayage.
“We are doing all these different things, because essentially we understand that dollars are tight right now and people need to be careful about investing in their businesses,” said Peter MacGillivray, SEMA vice president of communications and events. “But the best incentive of all continues to be the huge opportunity that the Show provides with the gigantic collection of buyers and businesses that will be in town. For the investment that you make to go on one sales call, you can come to the SEMA Show and make dozens of sales call and that is a pretty efficient use of your dollars.”
For more information and to register for the SEMA Show, visit www.SEMAShow.com.