LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Las Vegas valley wrapped up 2023 on a high note with double-digit gains in several tourism categories.
On Wednesday, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority dropped new numbers from December 2023. When looking at the LVCVA data, it shows the valley welcomed just under 3.4 million visitors in December, with the yearly total sitting at over 40.8 million visitors. That's up 5.2% when compared to 2022 visitor totals.
When you take a closer look at convention attendance, it goes up even more. By the end of 2022, Las Vegas welcome 4.9 million people for conventions. However, at the end of 2023, that number was nearly six million, a difference of almost 20%. According to the LVCVA data, the average daily room rate is up nearly 12% and sitting at $191.29 and revenue per available room is up 18%, at $159.73.
While Harry Reid International Airport hasn't dropped the number of passengers who traveled through the airport, it is a record-breaking year. As of November 2023, a total of 52.8 million passengers flew in or out of the airport, a new record after passing 2022 numbers.
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Gaming numbers for December 2023 haven't been released by the Nevada Gaming Control Board, as of Wednesday. However, LVCVA data shows that heading into December, Clark County brought in $12,786,788,000, the Las Vegas Strip brought in $8,288,123,000, and Downtown Las Vegas brought in $880,174,000.
One contributing factor to those numbers is the amount of high-profile events that have been held in the valley over the past year, including sports events like the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix and concerts from artists like Beyoncé and Taylor Swift.
Southern Nevada could also see a boost from Super Bowl LVIII. LVCVA officials predict that about 330,000 people will travel to Las Vegas the weekend of Feb. 10 for The Big Game. Room rates across the valley are going up and airport officials are planning ahead for private jets and planes that are expected to arrive.
With more and more visitors coming to the valley, city, county, and national leaders have been looking for ways to help alleviate everything from traffic headaches to airport capacity. The Las Vegas Convention Center went through a $600 million renovation project, which expanded convention space, Harry Reid International Airport has added over 1,000 parking spaces at Terminal 1 and are planning a new airport just north of Primm, transportation officials have started a $86 million project to expand Interstate 15, and officials are getting ready to break ground on the Brightline West rail project, which would connect Southern Nevada to California.
