On May 15, students within the College of Business graduate seminar in logistics and supply chain management participated in a four-part project focused on the value network and supply chain for the Nevada tourism and hospitality sector. The symposium was hosted by the University Center of Economic Development.

“The tourism and hospitality sector value network and supply chain represents such a large portion of the entire state’s economy, so it was clear we should spend a semester looking at the gaps within the value network of this particular industry sector,” Fred Steinmann, director of the University Center of Economic Development, said. “Identifying the gaps gives us the opportunity to think about how we can support targeted new business creation and attraction efforts, as well as working on expanding existing businesses, so we can close those gaps and obtain more economic impact in the state of Nevada.”

The University Center of Economic Development works closely with businesses within the tourism and hospitality sector in Nevada.

“We are Nevada’s only U.S. economic development administration-funded university center,” Steinmann said. “As part of the five-year grant given to us by the U.S. Economic Development Administration, we have a statewide mission to work with each of the economic authorities and provide technical assistant services, this current project being one of them.”

During the project, graduate students participated in a series of assignments including researching the history of the supply chain, evaluating trends in tourism and hospitality, mapping out the value network and supply chain of Nevada’s sector, and identifying gaps and building economic development strategies that could be applied at a community, regional and statewide level.

“Students completed an 18-page paper that they wrote together as a group and also did an hour-long presentation in class, which was attended and evaluated by staff from the Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs and representatives of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development,” Steinmann said.

The symposium ended with an opportunity for students to meet Lieutenant Governor of Nevada Stavros S. Anthony.

“Stavros Anthony is also a chairperson for the Nevada Commission on Tourism, so clearly tourism and hospitality is very important to the lieutenant governor,” Steinmann said. “Both the governor and the lieutenant governor have made economic development broad, but they also continued the growth and diversification of tourism and hospitality.”