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Friday, Sept. 4, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.
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Fewer travelers will be celebrating the unofficial end of summer with expensive weekend trips this Labor Day holiday, local and national tourism research shows.
The Las Vegas Visitors and Convention Authority is expecting an estimated 273,000 visitors during the holiday weekend, 2,000 less than the visitor count for 2008. Citywide hotel occupancy is expected to reach 87 percent, a 1.8 percent drop from Labor Day weekend 2008.
Though visitation numbers are relatively steady for the year-over-year period, visitors will be spending less this Labor Day weekend. Non-gaming spending is expected to be off 9.6 percent compared to 2008.
Customers of the popular travel Web site Orbitz.com have made Las Vegas the No. 1 travel destination for the Labor Day weekend for the second year in a row. But average daily room rates for the holiday weekend have fallen 20.6 percent, from $136 in 2008 to $108 in 2009.
Las Vegas wasn’t the city with the largest room rate decline on Orbitz. Room rates in Seattle fell 33 percent while rates in Honolulu dropped 26 percent, 24 percent in Cancun and 22 percent New York City.
Hotel room rates for the weekend run the gamut, based on rates at Vegas.com. Average daily room rates at some of the most popular Las Vegas hotels on the travel site include $458 at Caesars Palace, $202 at Hard Rock, $269 at Palms, $322 at Wynn and $227 at MGM Grand.
Though those rates can be pricey for the Vegas budget traveler, weekend deals can still be found with rates from $89 at the Sahara, $107 at the Tropicana and $111 at Imperial Palace and the Stratosphere on Vegas.com.
In the mountain region, which includes Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming, 21.9 million people are expected to travel this weekend, which is almost 12 percent of the population of the area, according to the AAA report.
That is a 6 percent decrease from last year, less than the 13.3 percent drop nationwide.
The pacific region, including California where many visitors to Las Vegas come from, will see a more average drop of 13.1 percent.
The auto club expects 39.1 million domestic travelers to take to the roads and air this year, a 13.3 percent drop from Labor Day in 2008.
While economic indicators, such as the price of gas and the number of people who are unemployed, impact travel, a more important factor for Labor Day is the date of the holiday, the club said.
Last year, an unusually high number of people traveled for the holiday, which was on Sept. 1.
But this year, Labor Day is a full week later, on Sept. 7.
The week difference means the holiday comes after school has started for most families, instead of before school resumes as it did for many families last year.
So while the number of travelers this year is low compared to last year, 2009 is actually expected to have the third highest number of Labor Day travelers in a decade.
And the reason so many people are hitting the road? The economy.
The slow economy means lower prices on everything from gas to flights to hotel rooms.
While the average traveler this weekend will spend $968, AAA expects travel prices for the third quarter of 2009 to be 11.7 percent less than the same quarter last year.
Gas is almost a dollar less in the Las Vegas area this week than it was last year, according to AAA’s daily fuel gage report.
And in Las Vegas — the No. 1 destination for the weekend according to online travel site Orbitz.com — room rates have dropped significantly.
The average daily hotel rate is $108 this year, down from $136 in 2008, the site said, making it the cheapest of the top 10 Labor Day destinations this year.
If 45.1 million Americans do travel this weekend, it will be far more than left home for the Fourth of July weekend this year.
According to the AAA report, this year’s numbers “show that the pull of the last long weekend of summer is stronger than the poor employment picture.”
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unemployment hit a 26 year high today. vegas is on its way to becoming a ghost town.
Harry Reid should get the government to throw money at the I-15 improvements from Baker to Las Vegas. Yes it is in California, but it is important for Las Vegas. We need a smooth ride from LA to here. Finish construction.
I-15 is more important than the airport for Vegas tourism.
The reason I don't come is also your roads, what a mess, both sides. Couldn't you guys tore up one side and not both at the same time. Your traffic is horrible....I'll be back when you get your roads done...let me know!
When are the powers that be in Vegas going learn that you need people (customers)with fat wallets.
Transportation is most costly to your people (customers).
Vegas needs to capture those costs (lower) before the customer arrives in Vegas.
Anyone remember (Searchlight) air flights?
After so many hours of play the flight was free.
In this digital age tracking a customers play is child's play.
Who wants a customer with an empty wallet?
Discretionary funds are at a premium.
Learn to capture those funds.
This is a sign of a good business person.
people are finding better things to do than throw money away on gambling.
From where I live, I can either do Wendover, Mesquite or Las Vegas. In Wendover and Mesquite I win sometimes and lose sometimes. In Las Vegas it is now like a massacre. I feel I don't have a snowballs chance in he**. I am done with Vegas until the corporate bean counters see the light and give their customers a fair chance. I mean come on, it's a no brainer
Las Vegas needs some new entertainment options also. What happened to Vegoose? Does anybody really care to go to a party hosted by KFED or Paris Hilton?
Why do people choose to be negative about Vegas becoming a ghost town, yet choose to stay, work, and live here? It's not much better anywhere else, but if you think so, you're not obligated to continue living here. Take the opportunity to fly elsewhere, spread your wings, live your dream!!