Las Vegas welcomed its second highest number of visitors ever in 2019.
The total of 42.5 million tabulated by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority represented a 1 percent increase over 2018 and was boosted by convention attendance of more than 6.6 million, a 2.3 percent increase and the best turnout for a single year on record.
Visitation was just shy of the 42.9 million seen in 2016, a record that could be well within reach in 2020 with the arrival of the giant ConAgg trade show and the National Football League Draft this spring and the debut of the $1.9 billion Allegiant Stadium later this year in time for the maiden season of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders.
McCarran International Airport surpassed 51 million arrivals and departures, topping 2018’s record 49.7 million. It was the airport’s third record-setting year in a row, capping nine consecutive years of growth since the end of the recession.
LVCVA figures show that occupancy at the city’s 149,000-plus hotel rooms hit 88.9 percent for the year (90.4 percent on the Strip, 84 percent Downtown) at an average daily rate of $132.62, a 2.9 percent increase over 2018. The Strip’s average rate was up 3.2 percent to $143.21. Downtown was up 2.6 percent to $71.80.
The bottom line in terms of revenue per available room finished at $117.90 citywide, a 3.8 percent increase year on year. The Strip saw an increase of 4.3 percent to $129.46. Downtown was up 3.9 percent to $60.31.
