The Los Angeles City Council has voted to allow Anschutz Entertainment Group to run the city's convention center, the first time in its 42 years of operation that it will be managed by a private company, according to the Los Angeles Times. The vote came amid concerns from local hoteliers that AEG would have an unfair advantage in filling its hotel rooms while booking conventions (it owns the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotel complex near the convention center). However, according to AEG officials, hotel bookings would primarily be handled by the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board, a nonprofit organization that operates separately from AEG. In June, Pennsylvania-based SMG challenged the pending appointment of AEG, claiming the company didn't have enough experience to run the facility. That challenge was dismissed by the city council. The management company will be paid $250,000 as an annual management fee and can qualify for another $250,000 if it meets certain performance measures.
An article was just published in the recent Meeting News Magazine discussing the recent law signed by Obama in March, establishing a national convention and visitors bureau dubbed the Corporation for Travel Promotion. This act will not likely take shape for at least 2 years. Up until now, the U.S. has never really promoted tourism on a national level for one can only assume they felt it wasn't necessary. However many other countries are light years ahead in touting their tourism offerings such as Australian Tourism, Canadian Tourism Commission and Visit Britain just to name a few. This is a first step in what can be a very large boost to the meetings and tourism industries in the U.S. See article below: April 23, 2010 By Jay Boehmer Set into law by the stroke of President Barack Obama's pen in March, the Travel Promotion Act will begin to take shape in the coming months with the establishment of a national convention and visitors bureau and the enactment of that entit...