Mandalay Bay conventions to go on

Some attendees worry it’s inappropriate, but organizers plan to give back

Corporate event organizers are not letting Sunday’s mass shooting halt plans to host large-scale group meetings at the Mandalay Bay Conference Center this month.

Tableau, a data analytics software marker, International SPA Conference and Expo as well as American Health Care Association Convention and Expo have said their shows will go on as planned. Tableau Conference will run from Monday through Oct. 12 followed by AHCA from Oct. 14 to Oct. 18 and ISPA from Oct. 16 to Oct. 18.

‘’We believe the best response is to carry on as normally as possible to show our collective resilience and the force we can be for positive change,’’ Tableau Chief Executive Officer Adam Selipsky said in a statement to attendees.

Stephen Paddock killed 58 people and wounded 489 on Sunday as he sprayed gunfire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay onto a crowd across the street from the hotel.

The worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history raised concerns that the Las Vegas tourism and convention business would be significantly affected. Las Vegas attracts more than 6 million business visitors a year. In 2016, the city attracted nearly 43 million visitors.

‘’We can confirm that no changes have been made to our event and that security is of the highest priority,’’ ISPA President Lynne Mcnees said in a statement on Monday.

AHCA said in a statement their expo ‘’will go on as planned.’’

About 13,000 people attended Tableau last year, according to the company’s site. ISPA is expecting 2,000

CONVENTIONS

spa industry professionals this year. AHCA could not be reached on Thursday for comment on the number of attendees.

Only one person has canceled their trip to ISPA, said Eileen Pitts, public relations manager for ISPA.

Some conference attendees were more concerned about the ethical

issues of hosting a conference in Mandalay Bay rather than security issues.

‘’This just doesn’t feel right. Not looking forward to the conference now, not sure I event want to go. It feels inappropriate,’’ Tom White wrote on Twitter on Monday to the @tableau account.

While Beverly Crowson and Liezl Ochoa agreed with White, Ken Wong said attending would help support the local economy.

Tableau has called on attendees to donate blood, volunteer or help Las Vegas in other ways.

Tableau attendees have created the hashtag #data17donates to help coordinate donations.

ISPA will organize ways for attendees to give back to Las Vegas, Pitts said.

Contact Todd Prince at tprince@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0386. Follow @toddprincetv on Twitter.