Thursday, July 31, 2003 | 11:20 a.m.
RENO -- Women bowlers and an influx of tourists helped boost occupancy in Reno-area hotels and motels 7 percent above the numbers in June of last year.
They also paid a little more. The Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority said visitors paid an average of $59.41 a night, up 77 cents from last June, when there was no bowling tournament.
The boost in June visitors was not enough to salvage the fiscal year though, which ended that month.
For the fiscal year, rooms paid for in the county were down 1.9 percent from the prior fiscal year, and taxable revenues were down 2.3 percent.
Some local hotel operators reported an increase in leisure travelers booking rooms in June. Leisure travelers are not affiliated with a convention or tourist group.
That and the month's occupancy numbers were seen as positives by tourism officials since June also saw the opening of the Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln, Calif., north of Sacramento. That casino is expected to compete with Reno properties.
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