Travel and tourism industry members at Lake Tahoe for 36th annual Go West Summit.

LAKE TAHOE, Nev. - The Tahoe Blue Events Center was transformed into what looked like a massive speed dating event for members of the tourism industry last week during the 36th annual Go West Summit. The summit connects tourism industry suppliers from across the West with buyers and media from around the world.

The Lake Tahoe Visitor's Authority (LTVA) hosted the event this year, and they rolled out the blue carpet for the long list of participants. The focus of the event is to have participants learn about destinations and what they have to offer.

"It is great to get these people here to see our destination and convention center," said Carol Chaplin, LTVA CEO. After the Go West group leaves there are seven more conventions heading to the Tahoe Blue Event Center this year.

This style of event introduces future visitors to tourism in the United States. Last year's post-event survey showed buyers expected to bring 4.7 million visitors into the US over the next 18 months with their spending an estimated $27.25M.

The event center floor was transported into rows of tables and chairs where the "industry supplier" meets with the "buyers and media" for 12-minute periods. Once a period is over, the bell sounds and the buyers and media change table to the next supplier on their list. Each buyer attended an average of 38 appointments with the suppliers during the event where over 600 people were in attendance.

The buyer is an internationally based tour operator or wholesaler, a US-based receptive operator, or a domestic tour operator. To attend the event they must be an established operator selling pre-packaged or customized multi-day tours to Go West Summit states and produce a brochure and/or website promoting these tours. The media representatives include travel magazine authors and others who write about travel.

The Nevada Lt. Governor Stavros S. Anthony spoke during one of the event's luncheons. Part of his duties include chairing the state tourism commission.
He said their focus is rural Nevada, and getting people out away from Reno and Las Vegas to see what else there is to do. He said Nevada has seen a record growth in tourism, and now with major sports teams, he sees that continuing to grow. The outdoor recreation industry is worth about $6 billion to Nevada, a big impact that is the State of Nevada is building two adventure centers, one in Boulder City, and the other in Carson City.

"Western states are in this together," said Anthony. "We want to make sure all have robust tourism industries for the locals and the visitors."

The Go West Summit states are Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

Outside the main floor were exhibits set up by the sponsoring states and LTVA. People could stop by the Nevada table and take a selfie photo in an alien, learn about the Sedona Arizona Scenic Train Ride, learn about visiting Galveston, Yellowstone, the Pony Express territory, and many others.

The participants spread out through Stateline and South Lake Tahoe to enjoy restaurants, shopping, sightseeing, and other activities.