The

tradition of invention - Conceiving Las Vegas

William A. Douglass, Pauliina Raento, 2004
Reflection and critical discussion written by Lisa Hammertinger based on the article mentioned above.

The development of Las Vegas is a very exceptional topic as the destination faced
challenging development conditions. The climate in Las Vegas is hot and extremely dry, it is
located in the middle of the desert and is sort of isolated. It still managed to become one of
the most visited tourism destinations worldwide. It is a Mecca for gambling, but not only
that; it is also visited for its entertainment possibilities, to enjoy luxury shopping or gourmet
cuisine. Every tourism destination has its individual roots - an attraction or a reason why
people visit the area. The exceptional and interesting story of Las Vegas started in 1905
already, when it was founded. It used to be a railroad town with a noticeable gender
imbalance - a higher number of males lived in Las Vegas, including male railroad crews. The
population wasn't as family oriented as it was usual in other destinations and also there
were saloons, casinos and red light establishments in town from the very beginning - also a
result from the male dominated population. This character Las Vegas had from the very
beginning might have had a big influence on what the destination became over the years.
Gambling was prohibited for quite some years but still continued more or less openly. The
Nevada State Legislature desperately faced the Great Depression and liberalized divorce and
gambling laws again, partially to attract tourists. Even though introducing these initiatives
made Nevada the "national pariah", it couldn't ignore the possibilities that this brought for
the destination.

LAS VEGAS vs. NIAGARA
The development of Las Vegas' image started as mentioned already when it was founded.
This 'Wild West" image and libertine atmosphere always gave distinction to the destination.
The roots of Niagara's touristic development lie in the natural resource of the Niagara falls.
Niagara is also a region that developed quickly and that was a highly successful and well
visited tourism destination. A lot of resorts and artificial attractions were constructed in
order to allure more tourists and make the place more desirable. With reference to the
tourism area life cycle, the region reached its saturation point and overlooked the right time
to start a rejuvenation of the destination. Brooker and Burgess (2008) claim, that to

successfully rejuvenate a destination it needs collaboration, a strategy and incremental and

revolutionary innovations. The image of the Niagara region worsened as people considered
it to be overcrowded, artificial and even tacky. (Brooker, Burgess 2008) Las Vegas on the
other side also reached a level of maturity at one point and marketers thought that the
amount of rooms available was too big. Steve Wynn came up with an innovation in Las
Vegas, which was before famous for it's cheap buffets and for being a 'proletarian's discount
delight'. He managed to attract a completely new customer base - 'the higher end' of the
tourism market. This innovation led to a reincarnation of Las Vegas and changed it's former
image completely - something that the Niagara region wasn't able to achieve. Mentionable
at this point is that Niagara's original main attraction is an incredible natural resource but
the region got more and more artificial over the years. Las Vegas is a destination that
developed from a completely different origin and has the ability to reinvent itself again and
again. Maybe this is the reason why tourism experts and critics are very challenged to assess
the phenomenon of Las Vegas, as it creates a different kind of illusion for everybody
individually. All this makes Las Vegas a very difficult destination for comparisons to other
tourism regions.


References

Brooker, E./Burgess, J. (2008): Marketing destination Niagara effectively through the tourism
life cycle. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 20(3), pp. 278-292

Douglass, W.A., Raento, P. (2004): The tradition of invention - conceiving Las Vegas. Annals
of Tourism Research, 31 (1), 7-23.