June Convention Attendance Up
Diane Taylor -- Tradeshow Week, 8/15/2008 10:28:00 AM
Charles Bowling, Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino executive vice president and Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority board member, noted at last week’s board meeting that, in the current economy, “all of us have to do more with less.”
From the standpoint of convention services and attendance, “more” appears to be working. According to the LVCVA Executive Summary for June, even though the number of conventions in Las Vegas was down 2.8 percent compared with the same month a year earlier, convention attendance was up 1.9 percent. Even the economic impact was up 0.8 percent, despite the fact the average room rate in June, $113.48 per night, was 16 percent lower than in June 2007.
The convention business might be weathering the economy, but the tourist side of the business took a hit with less traffic on the Strip, literally. LVCVA June statistics confirm a decline from last year in daily auto traffic of 6.8 percent, and the Nevada Taxicab Authority said total trips in June took a 2.4-percent dip, even though average trip revenue was up 5.9 percent, from $11.91 to $12.61. And the crowds? Total visitor volume in June was down 3.1 percent, and, year to date, total Las Vegas visitor volume was off 0.5 percent.
In nearby Laughlin, the visitor number declines are more dramatic. Visitor volume in Laughlin was down 6.7 percent over the same period last year, and the average daily room rate was down 3.1 percent. Mesquite, on the other hand, is, like Las Vegas, seeing only a slight 0.6-percent decrease in total visitors, even if its average daily room rate, $45.47, represents a whopping 35.6-percent decline compared with the same period last year.
Where is the economy taking the biggest hit locally? Gaming revenue throughout Clark County has seen a year-to-date decline of 5.1 percent. The good news is that convention attendees are still coming.
