Las Vegas March visitor volume off

Tuesday, May 13, 2003 | 11:08 a.m.

Las Vegas visitor volume fell in March from last year's levels, primarily due to the outbreak of the Iraq war and the city hosting a major convention in 2002 that wasn't here this year.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported 3 million visitors in March compared with 3.3 million in March 2002, a 7.4 percent downturn. Convention attendance was off 17.6 percent for the month, to 565,678 from 686,867 a year ago.

Researcher Kevin Bagger of the LVCVA said convention visitation was off dramatically because the ConExpo/Con-Ag trade show, a major construction convention, occurred in Las Vegas in 2002, but not 2003. ConExpo, the largest show in the Tradeshow 200 list of the largest conventions in the United States, occurs every three years and drew about 110,000 people to the city last year.

Bagger also said anxiety about the outbreak of war and the beginning of bombing in Baghdad March 19 contributed to travel downturns across the United States, resulting in fewer visitors this year.

Bagger also said the calendar produced a negative contribution to visitor volume this year. There were 10 weekend days -- Fridays, Saturdays and holidays -- in March 2002, but only nine this year.

The LVCVA's March report, issued today, also said the occupancy rate fell 6.7 points to 85.6 percent and the average daily room rate was down 0.6 percent to $87.12 a night from $87.63 a year ago.

Visitor volume was off 5.8 percent to 390,183 in Laughlin and up 0.5 percent to 152,407 in Mesquite over the same period a year ago.