The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) informed this week that the market closed out the year with almost 3.4 million visitors in December, a 2.7 percent increase from a year ago.
The 12-month total was 5.2 percent higher than in 2022 and was the largest yearly total since the Las Vegas area drew 42.5 million visitors in 2019.
The LVCVA released the December and year-end visitation numbers during the Vegas Chamber’s Preview Las Vegas 2024 event on Wednesday (24), a week before the Gaming Control Board releases year-end gaming revenue figures.
“This was an epic year,” LVCVA CEO Steve Hill said in a presentation. He cited the “totality” of Las Vegas seeing a 20 percent year-over-year increase in convention and conference attendance, increased tourism and top-tier special events, including the inaugural Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Wells Fargo Securities gaming analyst Daniel Politzer told investors in a research note Wednesday that the visitation trends were consistent with commentary from resort operators.
“We view December as a solid month in Las Vegas, and a strong follow-up from a record November bolstered by Formula One,” Politzer wrote.
Records were set for average daily room rates in Las Vegas, which topped US$191 a night, 12 percent higher than in 2022. Strip resorts averaged US$204.42 a night, up 12.3 percent from a year ago.
Revenue per available room, an economic measure analysts use to gauge profitability, was US$176.21 on the Strip, up almost 19 percent from 2022, and US$159.73 citywide, up 18 percent.
Hotel occupancy in Las Vegas averaged 83.5 percent, up 4.3 percent from 2022.
Source: The Nevada Independent
