Meetings between buyers and sellers at the 36th annual Go West Summit held in Stateline filled the floor of the Tahoe Blue Event Center.
Laney Griffo | Tahoe Daily Tribune
In a business equivalent of speed dating, hundreds of tourism industry buyers and suppliers had just 12 minutes to make a deal last week at the Tahoe Blue Event Center.
This year, 20 countries were represented by buyers at the 36th annual Go West Summit held in Stateline for the first time Feb. 26-29.
The big room was filled with attendees two days making deals during 12-minute sessions that resembled speed dating.
Prior to the event, buyers go online to fill out a profile, preferences, and what they are looking for during the summit. They then schedule appointments with the suppliers.
On Feb. 27-28, attendees spent all day in meetings, and they came prepared to make deals.
The appointments happen in a large room, with rows and rows of tables. The suppliers stay in one spot, while the buyers move from table to table. Each attendee has the opportunity for up to 73 appointments. This year, more than 8,000 appointments were scheduled.
Attendees opened the conference with a site tour of Lake Tahoe’s hotels and accommodations, followed by a dinner at Riva Grill.
“They are here to do business and they are doing business,” said Go West President Mary Motsenbocker.
In 2023, buyers expected to bring more than 4.6 million visitors into the American West as a direct result of contracts signed at the event. Buyers signed more than $3.3 million worth of contracts.
The return on investment from the 2023 Go West Summit is expected to bring in $27 million in business over an 18 month period.
This is the first time in its 36-year history the Go West Summit has been in Lake Tahoe.
When the Tahoe Blue Event Center was being proposed, it was offered as an opportunity not just for concerts but for industry conferences that were lacking a home in the region before.
What’s great about this is that it’s really showing what the event center is doing for the community,” said Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority and Tahoe Douglas Visitors Authority President-CEO Carol Chaplin. “This is one of several industry conferences that we’ve attracted.”
Motsenbocker said there is great benefit for the host. On the last day of the Summit, attendees had an adventure day, filled with snow activities, boat tours, a Native American history tour of the region and trips to Virginia City. So buyers are able to experience the region first-hand and can make personal recommendations to their clients when putting packages together.
In addition, Tuesday evening was a free night, so the more than 400 attendees had the opportunity to eat and drink out in town.
Nevada Lt. Gov. Stavros Anthony, who is also the chairman of the Nevada Tourism Commission, attended Tuesday’s event and spoke during lunch.
“When it comes to tourism, that’s our No. 1 industry in the State of Nevada so anytime we can show off our tourism industry to other states, we’re just honored to do it,” Anthony said. “We know how to do tourism here in the state, we know how to do Super Bowls, we know how to do things in Northern Nevada, we know how to do tourism in the rurals.”
