315K visitors expected to visit Las Vegas for Memorial Day weekend
Upward of 315,000 visitors will pop into Las Vegas during the Memorial Day weekend. That means busy sidewalks, congested roads and crowded venues but also a boost for the local economy.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority estimates visitors will drop $213.6 million over the three-day weekend.
“That’s direct spending by the visitors,” said Jeremy Handel, a spokesman for the authority. “All of the gambling, all of the spending on restaurants and hotel rooms — whatever they pay for while they’re here.”
Of the 149,563 total available hotel rooms in the valley, 98.1 percent will be occupied for the weekend.
“There’s still a little room there if anybody wants to make a last-minute decision to drive or fly into Las Vegas for Memorial Day Weekend,” Handel said.
Christine Crews, a spokeswoman for McCarran International Airport, said it’s “busy, busy, busy over here.” The airport is expecting more than 322,000 arrivals from Thursday through Monday, up 3.7 percent from the same time last year.
“Las Vegas has been seeing an upward trend over the last five years. But in the past year to year-and-a-half, in particular, it’s been at a more accelerated pace,” she said. “This could be the busiest year on record for McCarran.”
The uptick in travel sends strong signals about the national economy, she said. Cynthia Harris, spokeswoman for AAA, describes this travel season as the “perfect storm.”
“You have affordable gas prices, hotel rates that aren’t extravagant and great weather,” she said, adding that this Memorial Day weekend will bring out the highest travel volume for the holiday since 2005.
“This really shows that there is a lot of pent-up desire to travel, and when we have record-high numbers, we know that the Fourth of July is going to bring out record numbers as well.”
The Nevada Transportation Department is preparing for an estimated 198,000 additional drivers over the weekend. Bridge and deck repairs will take a break through May 31 along northbound U.S. Highway 95 between the Spaghetti Bowl and Eastern Avenue.
Contact Nicole Raz at nraz@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4512. Find @JournalistNikki on Twitter.
