TYSONS, Va. — If the NADA Present is anyone’s child, it is Steve Pitt’s.
Every time one thing threatens the occasion, he could be forgiven for taking it personally — as evidenced by three examples from years previous that he cited in a February interview that also trouble him.
Pitt, who has been in control of organizing and managing the Nationwide Car Sellers Affiliation’s annual conference since 1974, mentioned this 12 months’s occasion in Las Vegas was shaping up properly, nevertheless.
A lot of the 2022 NADA Present — Pitt’s final earlier than he retires in April — takes place in an enormous new addition to the Las Vegas Conference Middle. Round 600 exhibitors have been signed up, with a ready listing of round one other dozen, and the conference needed to ask for extra space, he mentioned.
Pitt mentioned advance reservations have been down for worldwide attendees, most likely due to ongoing journey restrictions associated to the COVID-19 pandemic. With about one month to go, whole advance reservations have been down about 13 p.c in contrast with precise attendance for the final in-person present in 2020, which additionally was in Las Vegas, he mentioned.
This 12 months’s remaining attendance quantity possible will probably be near the advance registration quantity, Pitt mentioned. In-person registration is a a lot smaller phenomenon than it was, as a result of it is really easy to register on-line upfront. Closing attendance for worldwide attendees is a little bit of a wild card this 12 months, although, due to the pandemic and visa necessities.