tourism

New "Welcome to Nevada" signs designed by high school students will start appearing on the state's roads this summer.

In a contest presented by the Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, Governor Brian Sandoval’s office, the Department of Education and the Department of Transportation, high school student designers have been called upon to create the new signs.

Time is running out and all entries need to be submitted by March 25, 2016.

Volunteers will be canvassing the community from Meyers to Round Hill this week to assess the employment needs of local businesses including their current employment situation, determine future needs, and ensure Tahoe can attract and retain talented workers for a variety of occupations.

Between 2003 and 2013, Lake Tahoe experienced a steady decline in jobs, with 5,500 jobs lost. Since then, there are several factors affecting the prosperity and sustainability of both the current and future workforce and economy.

Lake Tahoe will be the scene of both Amgen Tour of California's men's and women's races in May of 2016, and the routes announced Thursday show cyclists will ride into the Tahoe Basin from Kirkwood and Hope Valley, circle the lake, ride up the mountains leading to the Heavenly Mountain Resort and through South Lake Tahoe.

Amgen officials said more than 350 of the world’s top cyclists will challenge themselves in Lake Tahoe by putting their strength and muscle power to the test as they climb, descend and break away along steep and winding stretches of the Sierra on Thursday, May 19.

Airports around the country have been impacted by changes in the airline industry, and the Reno Tahoe International Airport is no exception.

Since the entire region an airport services benefits from increased flights and passengers, airport and tourism officials are reaching out to local communities in a series of "Airport 101."

This past summer was Lake Tahoe’s busiest tourist season in recent memory. With the economy rebounding and major population growth projected for nearby metropolitan areas, this summer is also a harbinger of change. We must be prepared to meet the challenges of increased visitation in the future.

The recent reversal of sign ordinance fees reflects on the poor leadership of South Lake Tahoe’s government. After an eruption of dissent from the business community, the City had to reverse its onerous sign permit fees and acquiesce to the demands of the business community.

Exciting news for South Lake Tahoe, the cycling community and local tourism today when it was announced that the Amgen Tour of California will be returning to the South Shore for both men's and women's events.

Professional cyclists will return to the lake for the men's Stage 5 finish and the women's Stage 1 start on Thursday, May 19, 2016. The men will take off in Lodi, Calif. and finish at Heavenly Mountain Resort’s California Base Lodge in South Lake Tahoe. The women will also start/finish at Heavenly Mountain Resort on May 19.

The Tahoe Chamber announced the nominations Tuesday for the 2015 Blue Ribbon Awards. There were 150 nominations received from the community for their annual awards program that recognizes exceptional South Shore businesses for excellence in service, entrepreneurship and experience among other areas.

Two professional travel and tourism groups are headed to South Lake Tahoe September 28-30 as part of Visit California and Travel Nevada's highlight of what both states have to offer to the foreign tourist.

An online biking guide for cyclists of all abilities in the South Lake Tahoe, North Lake Tahoe, Truckee, Carson Valley and California Alps just been released. Bike Tahoe: Tahoe’s Ultimate Bicycling Guide, features 65 of the most popular bicycle rides in and around the Lake Tahoe Basin, and can be visited at www.BikeTahoe.org. This is a “responsive web site” meaning that it automatically resizes the content format to fit the screen size of the device being used (smart phone, tablet, laptop).

Author Michael S. Green will discuss his book Nevada: A History of the Silver State in a free presentation at the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park on Sunday, September 27, at 10:00 am.
Michael S. Green, a leading Nevada historian, provides a detailed survey of the Silver State’s past, from the arrival of the early European explorers, to the predominance of mining in the 1800s, to the rise of world-class tourism in the twentieth century, and more recent attempts to diversify the economy.

Location

Change.

It’s happening fast in Reno-Tahoe tourism, from millennials’ growing influence in the marketplace to changing preferences among visitors, according to a new industry analysis.

And the quicker the region embraces it, the better.

“Reno-Lake Tahoe Tourism Industry – Navigating Change,” is a white paper written by South Lake Tahoe-based SMG Consulting and its president, Carl Ribaudo.

Once considered rundown and dirty, Reno, as well as neighboring Sparks, is experiencing a staggering rebirth. Only eight percent of their economy now comes from the gaming and tourism industry, with the remainder coming from a boom of the relocation of manufacturing and distribution companies.

What is evident is that the Reno of today is not the Reno of 25 years ago. It isn't even the same Reno of four years ago.

Once again, an audience full of mainly Realtors and property managers filled the South Lake Tahoe City Council Chambers as the topic of Vacation Home Rentals (VHR) was on the agenda for discussion.

Renting a vacation home is being increasingly popular in South Lake Tahoe just as in other communities. Many tourists prefer to rent a VHR instead of a traditional motel or hotel room. There are many reasons from enjoying time with family to reunions and wedding parties.

South Lake Tahoe can create a sustainable economy if we focus on "active tourism." This was the message relayed by the panel of speakers at Wednesday's Tahoe Talk series at Lake Tahoe Community College.

If the 15 page spread about Lake Tahoe in the May edition of Bike magazine is any indication, people know about the activity/recreation based tourism awaiting them in Tahoe, and they're about to come.

Are we ready?,

Just about.

The date was May 15, 2011. All eyes of the bicycle racing world were on South Lake Tahoe as our mountain resort town hosted one of the top cycling events in the world. Anticipation and excitement were evident throughout the area as plans came into place with the amazing groups of volunteers that the South Shore is known for.

To City Manager of South Lake Tahoe, City Council

RE: motel housing

Honorable City Manager and City Council,

I am writing to you out of concern about the possible new ordinance regarding motel housing. In the past six years I have been involved with working for and advising various properties. The seven different properties opened my eyes to a separate part of our community that goes mostly unnoticed.

As a thank you to area residents and employees, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Lake Tahoe is hosting a free industry night for locals on the last Sunday of every month featuring live concerts in Vinyl. The first monthly event is Sunday, April 26 with a performance by Forget the Roses. Doors open at 8 p.m. and the show starts at 9 p.m.

Gaming veteran Chris Fiumara has been named as the new vice president and general manager of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in South Lake Tahoe.

The former man in the position, Don Marrandino, left a month ago after overseeing the construction and opening phases of the Hard Rock which opened January 28, 2015.

Let us start with a common interactive scenario for Lake Tahoe:

40 years ago a family came to Lake Tahoe, walked to the water’s edge of a very full lake (on that day in 1975, Tahoe’s surface elevation was at 6228 feet), and said, “What a beautiful lake! Look how clear it is!” and they spent the rest of their vacation not knowing the environmental direction that Tahoe was heading.

In a scene from 1992’s “The Bodyguard,” Kevin Costner‘s character, hired to protect the music star played by Whitney Houston, runs down a snowy wooden pier and dives into the water to rescue a boy from a boat just before it explodes. (Cue a Houston ballad.)

Off the silver screen, that same 76-foot-long pier and the property attached to it are known in real life as Tallac House, which just listed for $7,995,000 in South Lake Tahoe, CA.

The insanely ornate, all-wood, 3,000-square-foot house has had its Hollywood close-up. Twice. More on that in a moment.

The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in South Lake Tahoe announced today they will be hosting six to eight outdoor concerts this summer.

The rear parking lot at the Stateline property will be converted into an outdoor amphitheater that will seat up to 7,500 people.

In a venture with PR Entertainment, Inc. (owned by former Caesars Entertainment Director Paul Reder), Hard Rock is looking to attract top-name national artists to the Lake Tahoe area. They plan on starting the concerts in June and concluding on Labor Day weekend.

Chances are, the beast sitting on the bar stool next to you won’t be a real dog.

A measure heard Monday by the Senate Government Affairs Committee seeks to allow operators of stand-alone bars, saloons and taverns to allow dogs inside their establishments without interference from local government overseers.

But county health officials testified against Senate Bill 105, sponsored by Sen. James Settelmeyer, R-Minden.

Settelmeyer introduced the bill at the request of Karen Woodmansee, editor of the Virginia City News in Storey County. She also works at a local casino.

For the past year, Terri Arnold of South Lake Tahoe has been creating promotional videos for the Carson Valley Story Teller series. Each of the nine completed videos (three are still in post production), show Arnold as she shows viewers all they can do in the area. She doesn't show you in the normal way either, everything is done while on a horse named Meha. They can all be seen on the Carson Valley Visitor Authority's You Tube page.