The World Travel&Tourism Council (WTTC) has announced that the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) will host next year’s Global Travel&Tourism Summit in Las Vegas.

“The support from members for Las Vegas has been overwhelming,” said Jean-Claude Baumgarten, president and CEO of WTTC, “as the LVCVA submitted such an excellent bid.”

“Our 10th Global Summit takes place next month in Beijing,” Baumgarten added, “and we fully intend to make the most of the more than 12 months between now and the Las Vegas event, scheduled for May 15-19, 2011, to promote the importance of travel and tourism and also its wider impact on other sectors in the United States – the world’s leading travel and tourism economy.”

“We are honored to host the 11th Global Travel&Tourism Summit,” said LVCVA president/CEO Rossi Ralenkotter. “Las Vegas is a premier destination for leisure and business travel and welcomes more than 36 million visitors annually from around the world. Las Vegas was built to host events.

“The travel and tourism industry generates US$30 billion for southern Nevada and employs 235,000 people. The industry is the economic driver for the State of Nevada.”

The Las Vegas Summit will be held at ARIA Resort&Casino, the centerpiece of CityCenter, the unprecedented urban resort destination which opened on the Las Vegas Strip in December 2009. CityCenter is a joint venture between MGM Mirage and Infinity World Development Corp, a subsidiary of Dubai World.

Jim Murren, chairman and CEO of MGM Mirage, said: “We are honored each day to welcome guests from around the world. To be able to host this distinguished group of travel industry leaders is an especially exciting opportunity for all of us at MGM Mirage.”

Las Vegas’s Summit bid was significantly strengthened by support from local and regional governments, as well as key industry bodies, such as the US Travel Association (US Travel).

“Las Vegas is one of the best-known tourism destinations in the USA and globally,” said Roger J. Dow, president and CEO of US Travel. “According to WTTC’s figures, travel and tourism in the USA is expected to account for 9.2 percent of GDP (US$1,375.9 billion) in 2010, employing some 13.7 million people in the wider travel and tourism economy – 9.9 percent of total employment.”

The Global Travel&Tourism Summit is the leading event in the travel and tourism industry leaders’ calendar that allows for direct, informal dialogue with public sector leaders plus the international media and academia.