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Conventions Boost Las Vegas Tourism

LAS VEGAS --Abnormally strong convention attendance boosted Las Vegas' tourism industry in the first month of 2003.

More than 2.91 million people visited town in January, up 9 percent compared with January 2002's total of 2.67 million, the Las Vegas Convention and Authority said Thursday. The month's total was also an increase of 3.8 percent compared with the 2.8 million visitors reported in January 2001.

Much of that improvement is attributed to the city's convention industry. The city reported 894,267 conventioneers in January, a 76.3 percent increase in attendance compared with the same period a year ago and a 66.1 percent improvement from January 2001.

Las Vegas benefited from improved attendance at shows it traditionally hosts in January, as well as the return or rescheduling of several major events that in 2002 took place in a different month or another market, Authority Research Director Kevin Bagger said Thursday.

"Convention scheduling is cyclical, and this (January) a lot of elements converged in our favor," Bagger said.

Better-than-expected attendance was reported at the International Consumer Electronics Show, held Jan. 9-12 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Bagger said. The show had about 116,687 attendees this year, up more than 17,200 from a year ago.

Additional visitors were also lured to Las Vegas by events new to the city, including the International Builders Show, held in Atlanta in 2002, as well as the Promotional Products Association International trade show, which this year ended its 26-year stay in Dallas in favor of the newly expanded Mandalay Bay Convention Center.

Those shows respectively brought about 92,000 and 20,000 people to Las Vegas in January, Bagger said.

Trade shows sponsored by the World Floor Covering Association and the SnowSports Industries America were also shifted to January from February dates a year ago, Bagger said.

January hotel occupancy rates were 82.4 percent, up 7 percent from a year ago. The average daily room rate reached $84.86, up nearly 20 percent from a year ago, the authority reported.

The total room nights occupied category was up 9.7 percent to 3.25 million, though tourist occupancy was down 26.2 percent in part because of the month's strong convention attendance.

Outside Las Vegas, Mesquite reported 143,195 January visitors, up 16.1 percent from a year ago. Laughlin's total of 340,300 January visitors was off 4.5 percent compared with January 2002.

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