Further, the current economic downturn has made the MICE market more challenging for Las Vegas. In 2009, Las Vegas experienced more than 400 event cancellations, a 13.6 % decrease in the number of conventions and exhibitions, and a 24% decrease in convention attendance. Convention size has also decreased as a result of shrinkage in convention budgets. Las Vegas has struggled with the decrease of the utilization of square footage and the decline of the MICE revenue during the economic recessionใ