LAS VEGAS - It’s the biggest Virtuoso Travel Week in history, and TravelPulse Canada is here.

Some 6,000 agents, suppliers and tourism/travel officials from around the world have gathered at The Bellagio, Vdara and Aria Hotels on the Las Vegas Strip for several days of networking, panel talks and parties. It’s one of the largest gatherings of its kind on the planet; a massive display of travel and tourism that emphasizes the kind of luxury products Virtuoso is famous for.

There are roughly 80 journalists on hand, including a handful of Canadians; Canada being a major market for Virtuoso.

The official opening ceremony was Sunday at Bellagio, featuring Virtuoso President and CEO Matthew Upchurch and an invigorating chat about business techniques and management skills from author Simon Sinek, as well as a stirring performance from the African Children's Choir.

Officials said there 2,888 travel advisors registered for Virtuoso Travel Week this year, up six per cent from 2017.

I later met up with Carol MacKay and Rob Houston, B.C.-based Virtuoso agents who acted as my “ambassadors” for the evening reception, which featured acrobats and amazing drinks and food options

After that came a Virtuoso media reception hosted by Switzerland Tourism at the Las Vegas Neon Museum, which is always a treat to visit. Officials were on hand from a number of fine Swiss hotels, as well as from Zurich Tourism.

I somehow finagled an invite to the Tahiti Tourism reception at The Bellagio, where they gave out Tahitian cultured pearl necklaces to invited agents and guests and showed off photos of glistening lagoons, magnificent overwater bungalows and jagged, deep green mountains.

There was plenty going on earlier on the weekend, as well. On Saturday I was given the chance to join one of the Virtuoso Travel Week globetrotting sessions, moving from booth to booth to chat folks offering high-end family and cruise trips. Among the representatives I chatted with were representatives from Tourism Whistler, perhaps Canada’s best year-round destination, as well as Cunard Lines, Silversea Cruises, Tourism Peru and Toronto-based Me to We, founded by Craig and Mark Kielburger.

That night MGM Resorts put on a tremendous event, treating journalists and Virtuoso officials to a cooking demonstration in the Tuscany Kitchen at Bellagio, with remarkable talent on display from top MGM properties and some wickedly good seafood, wagyu beef and a truly incredible lemon dessert that might take home the best lemon dessert Instagram photo award for the year.

On Sunday there was a fine media lunch and individual meetings, which allowed me to sit down with officials from Tourism Barbados and to chat with Virtuoso agents and representatives from Accor Hotels, a group that includes Toronto-based Fairmont.

There’s a Virtuoso Travel Week press conference and panel discussion on Monday, as well as other events. So stay tuned to TravelPulse Canada for more.