Number of visitors to Las Vegas flat in March, agency reports

A flurry of trade show rotations causing some not to meet in Las Vegas this year kept visitation flat in March, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported Friday.

The agency that markets and promotes the city reported 3.7 million visitors in March, a 1.4 percent decline from March 2018.

The downturn was attributed to a 15.4 percent decrease in convention attendance. Only 552,200 conventioneers visited the market in March, compared with 652,400 a year earlier.

Some trade shows routinely meet in other convention cities to provide variety to their attendees. This year, the National Auto Dealers Association (24,000 attendees), the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (14,000) and Helicopter Association International (17,000) didn’t have their shows in Las Vegas.

Nearly every key tourism indicator was flat compared with that of last year. Citywide occupancy was down 1.2 percentage points to 91.5 percent. Total occupied room nights slipped 0.9 percent to 4.199 million, and the average daily room rate was off 0.2 percent to $133.95 a night.

Average daily traffic also slipped 0.7 percent to an estimated 120,402. Nevada Department of Transportation estimates include all traffic, including local residents, and since September, the state has added traffic from the new Interstate 11 into the total.

The state Gaming Control Board on Thursday reported Clark County gaming win off 0.6 percent to $882.8 million for the month.

Two aberrations from the March declines were McCarran International Airport passenger traffic, up 2.6 percent to 4.412 million passengers, and the weekend occupancy rate, which was up 0.5 percentage points to 97.1 percent for the month, a boost likely spurred by March Madness basketball tournament fans.

For the 2019 first quarter, visitation is up 0.8 percent to 10.35 million over 2018. Convention attendance for the quarter is up 1.5 percent to 1.984 million, and the average daily room rate is up 4.9 percent to $141.77 a night. Citywide occupancy is up 0.7 percentage points to 88 percent for the quarter.

Visitor volume in Laughlin was down 3.4 percent in March to 173,500 visitors and flat even at 133,100 in Mesquite. For the quarter, Laughlin visitation is off 4.7 percent, while Mesquite is down 1.4 percent.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.