Local deals plentiful as tourism industry gears for ‘Staycation II’

By Richard N. Velotta

Tuesday, May 5, 2009 | 2 a.m.

With school out in a month and self-imposed deadlines to book summer travel rapidly closing in, some economists say it’s looking more and more like summer 2009 is going to be Staycation II. Or a naycation.

In a recent story in the Los Angeles Daily News, Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., said he thinks more Southern Californians are going to do this summer what a lot of them did last summer: stay close to home instead of going on an elaborate trip.

“Even if somebody hasn’t lost their job, they will be nervous and hesitate to spend on something considered nonessential like travel,” Kyser said.

Welcome to the return of the staycation. It’s a word many travel writers look at with disdain because the whole idea of getting away for vacation is, well, getting away.

A big question for Southern Californians will be whether they consider Las Vegas close enough to their own back yard that a visit here would be a staycation. Or will people simply not do anything and opt for the naycation?

The high cost of fuel drove ticket prices to the stratosphere last year, killing a lot of leisure travel to Europe and Hawaii. As a result, many would-be wanderers looked instead for cheap deals in California, Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe.

The booking window shrank and it now has become harder to forecast whether people simply aren’t coming or if they’re waiting for the last second for a great deal.

Local resorts and tourist attractions have been quick to respond with some extraordinary discounts to draw the attention of the Southern California market, which normally supplies about one-third of our visitors every year.

Local tourism officials have seen an uptick in the amount of drive-in traffic, an indication that some people aren’t willing to abandon all travel.

Meanwhile, local resort officials haven’t lost sight of the fact that Southern Nevada is a market of 2 million people and because the local economy isn’t much better than it is everywhere else, there may be Southern Nevadans doing their own staycations.

To help capture that market, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce have partnered to launch a new Web site targeting Clark County residents.

The site — stayandplayhere.com — is a one-stop Internet destination that offers special deals in Las Vegas, Mesquite, Laughlin, Boulder City and Primm for people with a valid Nevada driver’s license.

“If you live here, stay here,” the site implores. “Your back yard is the world’s greatest playground. Get out and take advantage of it.”

Click through to the site and you’ll find more than 100 special deals — some more special than others — and in all cases you need to flash your Nevada ID to get the discounted rate.

Among the deals:

• An overnight stay with five times slot points and a $30 food and beverage gift card at Aliante, Boulder, Palace, Sunset, Texas Stations and the company’s two Fiestas for $50, Sundays through Thursdays. Locations with bingo have discounts for that, too.

• 20 percent off deals for all salon services at the AMP Salon at the Palms. There’s also a 20 percent off deal at the Aquae Sulis Spa at the JW Marriott.

• $9 tickets at the Atomic Testing Museum (they’re usually $12) and 10 percent off souvenirs purchased at its store.

• $40 savings on tickets to the Blue Man Group at the Venetian, through May 15.

• $124 zip line flights at Bootleg Canyon Flightlines (usually $149) in Boulder City.

• 25 percent discounts for Carrot Top’s show at Luxor.

• $20 tickets for the Chippendales show at the Rio (normally $50).

• The $250 CineVegas Film Festival tickets will go for $150 for locals for the June 10-15 event that includes the screening of 16 films and access to after-parties.

• 20 percent discounts and $10 buffet credits are available at the Gold Coast, Sun Coast and Sam’s Town. A separate deal is available at the Orleans.

• 25 percent discounts at downtown’s Las Vegas’ Four Queens and its Hugo’s Cellar restaurant.

• 30 percent off for spa treatments at the Green Valley Ranch Spa.

• 2-for-1 ticket deals for several shows: “Defending the Caveman” (through August) at the Luxor; “Jubilee!” at Bally’s for top-tier tickets Saturdays through Thursdays; “Le Reve” at Wynn Las Vegas for $125 tickets Sundays through Wednesdays; Louie Anderson’s “Larger Than Life” at the Excalibur; The Improv at Harrah’s; and the Tournament of Kings dinner show at the Excalibur.

• Cirque du Soleil’s “Love” is available to locals for $60 through May 31.

• A variety of discounts are available at several nightclubs. Included on the stayandplayhere Web site are deals at Jet at the Mirage; LAX at Luxor; Cathouse at Luxor; Mix at The Hotel at Mandalay Bay; Moon at the Palms; Studio 54 at MGM Grand; The Bank at Bellagio; Rok at New York-New York; and Tabu at MGM Grand.

First step

Southwest Airlines’ planned code share agreement with Mexico’s Volaris took an important step this week when the airline offered a link to the Mexican carrier’s Web site.

By 2010 Southwest and Volaris plan to coordinate schedules and offer seamless travel to and from Mexico. Southwest has the same game plan for its code-share partnership with Canada’s WestJet and that is expected to be rolled out this year.

Volaris recently began offering service to Los Angeles International Airport and Oakland, Calif., both cities served by Southwest, and southwest.com promotes Volaris flights linking Los Angeles and Oakland with Toluca, Mexico, and from Oakland to Guadalajara.

Richard N. Velotta covers tourism for In Business Las Vegas and its sister publication, the Las Vegas Sun. He can be reached at 259-4061 or at [email protected].