Leading Worldwide Organizers Increasingly Select Venetian Macao for Upcoming Events
MACAO, May 2 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, a Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) property, said today it continues to book Meeting, Incentive, Convention and Exhibition (MICE) business at a strong pace and has inked several prominent tradeshows over the past few weeks. The mega resort, scheduled to open this summer, now has commitments from more than 20 tradeshow organizers to produce 44 events over the next two years. The varied tradeshows feature a cross-section of business sectors and will generate a significant number of hotel room nights for The Venetian Macao, including tens of thousands in just the first few months after the opening of the property.
"The momentum our MICE team has been experiencing is incredible and the current demand is far beyond our expectations. Entire shows are relocating to Macao as they clearly recognize the advantages of staging a show with us," said William P. Weidner, president and chief operating officer of Las Vegas Sands Corp. "Bringing an entirely new approach to the MICE industry in Asia has definitely paid off as trade show organizers recognize our team's experience and our one-of-a kind integrated resort that will allow these shows to attract attendees."
Recent shows booked by The Venetian Macao include; the ISSA/InterClean show, which is relocating an event previously held in Shanghai. This important show is a joint venture between Amsterdam/Rai, one of Europe's leading exhibition organizers, and the Washington D.C. based International Sanitary Supply Association; The World Tobacco Show, which is relocating an event previously held in Bali, Indonesia. This important show is produced by DMG World Media, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Daily Mail & General Trust plc.; The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, a Washington D.C. based Association, also recently chose Macao for the 2008 IAAPA Asian Expo, an event being held this year in Bangkok.
Kenfair International (Holdings) Limited, one of Hong Kong's leading exhibition organizers globally recognized for producing events for the toy, gift, premium incentive and electronics industries, has signed a long-term contract with The Venetian Macao to produce two trade shows each year. The Venetian Macao will also host the Macao International Pharmaceutical Expo, a trade show produced by the China Center for Pharmaceutical International Exchange, an exhibition company registered with the Central Government, and affiliated with China's State Food and Drug Administration, working in cooperation with Bestway International Exhibition Company Macau.
Separately, The Venetian Macao has already signed contracts for 20 corporate meetings to be held within the first four months of opening. Additional meetings have also been scheduled for 2008. Among the distinguished organizations selecting The Venetian Macao are McDonalds, Deloitte, Uniflair, Johnson & Johnson, MassMutual Asia, Shanghai Xing Tai Real Estate Development, Japan Agricultural Association, Nissan Motors and Hagemeyer. Weidner said many of the region's most important corporate meeting planners are on board to help book corporate meetings at The Venetian Macao. "In fact, Jalpak International, Japan Travel and Destination Asia, all important meeting organizers in the region, respectively referred the Japan Agricultural Association, Nissan Motors and Hagemeyer to our corporate booking team."
"The wide variety of products and services represented here is indicative that The Venetian Macao has a unique appeal to both tradeshow organizers and meeting planners and is well on its way to becoming their destination of choice," added Weidner. "The assortment of entertainment, shopping, dining and recreation options, in concert with state-of-the art exhibition and meetings facilities, is clearly positioning The Venetian Macao as the pre-eminent meeting and convention destination in Asia."
Other significant trade shows previously announced by The Venetian Macao include the Asian Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo, CMP Asia Jewelry and Watch Show, the Global Gaming Expo Asia, Motor World Macau, and the Hong Kong Jewelry Manufacturers Exhibition.
The Venetian Macao will be one of the largest hotels in Asia and will be Macao's first true mega-resort. It will feature 3,000 all-suite rooms, 1.2 million-square feet of meeting, convention and exhibition space, world-class entertainment in a 15,000-seat arena, and an impressive array of dining, shopping, and recreation options.
The Venetian Macao, located in Macao, Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, will also serve as the anchor of the Cotai Strip, a master planned development of resort and casino properties. The Cotai Strip(TM) will feature hotels operated by some of the most prestigious names in the hotel industry, including Four Seasons, Sheraton, St. Regis, Shangri-La, Traders, Hilton, Conrad, Fairmont, and Raffles. Las Vegas Sands Corp. will own and construct each of the hotels as well as operate the casinos and entertainment venues in each hotel.
Statements in this press release, which are not historical facts, are "forward looking" statements that are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other factors beyond the Company's control, which may cause material differences in actual results, performance or other expectations. These factors include, but are not limited to general economic conditions, competition, new ventures, government regulation, legalization of gaming, interest rates, future terrorist acts, insurance, and other factors detailed in the reports filed by Las Vegas Sands Corp. with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
ABOUT LAS VEGAS SANDS CORP.
Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) is one of the leading international developers of multi-use integrated resorts. The Las Vegas, Nevada-based company owns and operates The Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino and the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas and the Sands Macao in the People's Republic of China (PRC) Special Administrative Region of Macao. The company is currently constructing four additional integrated resorts: The Venetian Macao Resort-Hotel in Macao; The Palazzo Resort-Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas; Sands Bethworks(TM) in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; and The Marina Bay Sands(TM) in Singapore.
LVS is also creating The Cotai Strip(TM), a master-planned development of resort-casino properties in Macao. Additionally, the company is working with the Zhuhai Municipal People's Government of the PRC to master-plan the development of a leisure resort and convention complex on Hengqin Island in the PRC.
