Las Vegas Souvenir & Resort Gift Show highlighted new souvenirs for 2025 season |
By Megan Smalley |
Almost one-third of buyers and exhibitors were new to this year’s buying event.Buyers from all 50 states and 26 countries attended the 2024 Las Vegas Souvenir & Resort Gift Show Sept. 17-20 at the Las Vegas Convention Center to check out new products for the 2025 season. This year’s show featured 1,300 booths from over 600 vendors. Clarion Events, the show organizer, reports that 27% of exhibitors were new for 2024. Buyers in attendance came from a variety of shop types, including souvenir, gift, apparel, resort, theme park, aquarium, zoo, airport and specialty stores. Approximately 1,700 unique stores sent buyers to the event to source new products and vendors at the event, which was up 6% compared with the number of stores in attendance in 2023. According to Clarion, over 475 VIP buyers attended the event, and 40% of buyers were new to the event this year. “This is the first time I’ve been to the show,” said Jadena Terrell, assistant park director of ZooWorld Zoological and Botanical Conservatory in Panama City Beach, Florida. “It was a great show. It had so many great vendors, vendors that I had never met before. It was the perfect amount of days, so it gave you plenty of time to review everything and then go back and talk to vendors. It was so easy to navigate as well.” Returning buyers also said that they were able to find new products and vendors at the latest Las Vegas Souvenir & Resort Gift Show. “We have been attending the Las Vegas Souvenir & Resort Gift Show from day one. It has become our biggest source of finding new products and seeing what is trending in the marketplace,” said Marcel Gadea of D&D Retail Enterprises Inc. Lisa Berry, group vice president for gift and souvenir at Clarion Events Inc., said the show also featured 13 networking and social events as well as a pickleball court. The show’s Connection Corner also offered two free educational sessions on Visuals for 2024 and More! and Diversity, Equity, Access and Inclusion in Retail. Show organizers also recognized Great Mountain West / G54 Design as its Best Booth Winner. The wholesale vendor offers custom apparel and other souvenirs from its headquarters in South Salt Lake, Utah. “Great Mountain West’s booth was praised for its engaging design,” said Berry. “The company’s custom apparel and hats were a hit with buyers.” The show also awarded Mavis by Herrera with its Best New Product award for its sustainable handbags. Berry said the handmade handbags, coupled with the vendor’s unique giveback program resonated strongly with attendees. “We are beyond thrilled and humbled to announce that we’ve won Best New Product Award at our very first trade show,” Mavis By Herrera said on its Instagram account. “It was truly an honor to receive this award, and it means the world to us as a small business. We couldn’t have done it without the support of our incredible community. Thank you to everyone who believes in our mission to create sustainable, ethical products that make a difference for the planet and our people.” Berry said she also received good feedback from attendees and vendors about the event. “Vendors said that buyers were great and placing strong orders,” she said. “We had more stores coming to buy and place larger orders throughout the event. The buyers loved the exhibitors that were there this year, and they loved the larger lifestyle section and the pickleball activation area.” Las Vegas Souvenir & Resort Gift Show returns Sept. 16-19, 2025, at the Las Vegas Convention Center. |