August Attendance Dips 22 Percent

Diane Taylor -- Tradeshow Week, 10/17/2008 1:17:00 PM

Frightening financial figures lead most newscasts these days, so anyone interested in Las Vegas convention numbers heard alarm bells when the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority Executive Summary numbers for August were issued: Convention attendance in August was down 22.3 percent from the same month a year earlier, and the economic impact conventions had on the city was down 23.6 percent, compared with 2007. 

Experts explained that a 15-percent decline in August room rates to an average of $107.01, compared with the same period last year, and fewer conventions, down 7.2 percent from a year earlier, accounted for the economic impact hit.

However, LVCVA Public Relations Manager Jeremy Handel suggested that the convention business is cyclical and subject to schedule changes. “It is difficult to draw conclusions from one month,” Handel said. “It’s always best to look at the year-to-date figures. The other thing to keep in mind with all these statistics is that 2007 was a record year for most of them. “

The 2008 year-to-date figures do tell a less startling story. Convention attendance is down 3.4 percent for the year, and the economic impact is down 7.3 percent.  

And comparing August 2007 figures to August 2006, last year was a record-breaker with convention attendance up 21.9 percent and economic impact up 28.1 percent compared with the previous year.   

In 2006, convention attendance was 606,595, compared with the year-to-date 2008 August attendance of 574,184. Still, convention attendance and the economic impact numbers make this year the third biggest August in Las Vegas history.   

In other figures from the Executive Summary, total August visitor volume was down 4.3 percent from a year ago, with year-to-date visitation down 1.5 percent. Clark County gaming revenue was down 9.4 percent for August and down 7 percent for the year to date.