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Convention and Visitors Authority projecting 278,000 for holiday weekend, up 3 percent from 2008
Thursday, Nov. 26, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.
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The Las Vegas Valley is expected to see an increase in Thanksgiving visitors this year, local tourism officials said.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is projecting 278,000 visitors will be in town for the holiday weekend, up 3 percent from 2008.
Visitors for the weekend are expected to have an economic impact of $159 million, an increase of 8 percent from last year.
Occupancy for the weekend is forecast to be at 87 percent, which is flat with last year’s numbers. A spokesperson for the LVCVA said the unchanged occupancy numbers reflect the addition of 4,000 hotel rooms to Las Vegas over the last year.
AAA Nevada said last week that the economy continues to have a tight grip on Thanksgiving travel for residents in the Mountain West region, which includes Arizona, Nevada and Utah.
AAA Nevada’s latest travel survey predicts more than 2.5 million travelers in the Mountain West region plan to travel 50 miles or more for the holiday weekend. That number is up .3 percent from 2008.
“The projected increase in travel appears to reflect improved consumer confidence from last year,” AAA Nevada spokesperson Michael Geeser said. “However, higher unemployment figures and less money in consumers’ wallets will most likely keep many people home who in the past may have been more likely to travel.”
Travel by car represents one of the strongest areas of growth this year, AAA said. AAA Nevada projects more than 2.1 million people in the Mountain West will travel by car, up 1.2 percent from last year.
Air travel is down this Thanksgiving. AAA said about 200,000 Mountain West residents will travel by plane this weekend, a decrease of more than 8 percent from last year.
Nationally, AAA expects 38.4 million people to travel 50 miles or more during the four-day weekend, a 1.4 percent increase from 2008.
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There may be more "heads in the beds" than last year but how likely is it that they'll be spending any decent amounts of money? At the lower-end property where I work, we'll get large families crammed four or more to a room and they'll bring their own food, even electric crock pots for cooking!
Guess that's why they should remove all electrical outlets from hotel rooms... have only one for an alarm clock and people will be forced to head out.
Maybe metro will have another funeral down the strip, that ought to be good for people who come here for a wedding, to party or have a family gathering and celebrate.
Next time metro holds an event for kids, "trunk or treat" etc. should someone stage a funeral or protest in front of their face???
Classless
Why is that classless? Because you don't want tourists to see the violence that can occur here in Las Vegas?
Or maybe you are a gang member that hates cops.
embarrassing. People go to Vegas but don't have the money to spend for a cheap buffet and instead cook their own can food in their rooms.....in this case let them stay at home where they belong and eat dog food and watch tv....
Who wants to come here? The indian casinos will get all of the gambling business this year.
278,000 people want to come here.
Welcome them with open arms.
They are the people that keep our locals employed and the doors open. They are also the people that pay most of the taxes so that the residents don't have a high tax base.
Hopefully next year there will be even more!
Vagaslee.....don't count on it. I think environprotector is right. I am visiting Palm Springs and the Indian casinos that I have seen the past couple of days are bulging at the seams with customers.
THEY ARE NOT SPENDING
I worked 12 hours driving a taxi TOOK HOME ^% $65 dollars.....got stiffed by Cnandians, Dutch, and a lady on fixed income who lives near Palace Station...I will remember you and pass you by next time
MORE HEADS IN BEDS but not for our pockets