Las Vegas visitor count jumps 7.4 percent in July

Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2000 | 8:57 a.m.

An estimated 3.1 million tourists visited Las Vegas in July, the third biggest monthly total on record and 7.4 percent better than a year ago, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority said.

For the year, the city's visitor volume is just shy of 21 million, compared with 19.4 million through the first seven months of 1999.

Visitation growth continues to outpace the increase in room inventory, which rose 3.8 percent from last year to 121,664.

New openings of the Bellagio, Mandalay Bay and The Venetian resorts helped spur the growth over the past year.

The numbers are especially impressive coming off a 13.1 percent increase in July 1999, tourism officials said.

Jason Ader, a gaming and lodging analyst for Bear, Stearns & Co., said the strong growth rates illustrate the strength of business volumes in the market and support his belief that this past summer was one of the strongest for Las Vegas.

A survey of 22 Strip properties indicates room rates increased an average of 32.3 percent in July from the previous-year period.

These results bode well for third-quarter earnings for high-profile Las Vegas gaming companies such as MGM Mirage, Mandalay Resort Group and Park Place Entertainment, Ader said, and to a lesser extent for Harrah's Entertainment and Station Casinos.

July's visitation was driven by a 10.1 percent increase in passengers at McCarran International Airport to 3.16 million, while auto traffic from Southern California increased 1.7 percent to 556,018.

Travelers who are not on business or in town for conventions continue to be the primary driver of strong visitation growth, comprising nearly 90 percent of the total room nights occupied during the month.

Convention attendance also experienced strong growth, rising 31.6 percent to 152,392. It's up 4.5 percent for the year to 2.3 million.

Las Vegas benefited from a strong Fourth of July weekend, as the holiday fell on a Tuesday and many people stayed for four days.

In addition to strong visitation in July, gaming revenues rose 15.2 percent on the Strip, while Clark County revenues overall increased 14 percent.

Laughlin's visitor volume grew 2.9 percent in July to 401,747, while Mesquite's numbers dropped 7.4 percent to 132,073.