Las Vegas Market Officials Report Pre-Registrations Up

With four weeks remaining until the Summer Las Vegas Market, held Aug. 1-5, Las Vegas Market officials report that they are optimistic for a strong August show with better-than-ereported that they are expected increases in hotel bookings and pre-registrations as compared to recent markets.

Las Vegas Market has already sold nearly 80 percent of its hotel inventory to Las Vegas Market attendees for the same block of room nights. The pick-up rate is outpacing the same period last year by 36 percent.

Market pre-registration is also tracking ahead of recent shows, with 14 percent more buyers pre-registered than Winter 2010 Market. Significantly more retailers and designers are planning to attend as compared to last Summer.

"This is certainly encouraging news for our industry and our customers. It has been a very challenging summer at retail and we are excited that buyers are apparently searching for new products and ideas at Las Vegas Market," said Robert Maricich, chief executive officer of International Market Centers, parent company of World Market Center Las Vegas. "It is extraordinary that so far registrations are well ahead of last year, especially at the magnitude above last summer's Market. We have worked hard with our programming and buyer outreach to create a compelling reason to attend Las Vegas Market and these positive numbers are proving successful."