Visitor traffic in Las Vegas hit an all-time high as a record number of visitors were welcomed to the “Entertainment Capital of the World” in 2016.
It’s the third consecutive year of visitation growth for Las Vegas, as it welcomed 42.9 million visitors in 2016, beating out the record-setting 42.3 million in 2015, according to figures (pdf) released on Tuesday by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA).
Rossi Ralenkotter, president/CEO of LVCVA, said, “Las Vegas continues to see increased interest in the destination, and we are excited to announce that once again we are celebrating record visitation,” and, “Together with our resort partners, we look forward to aggressively marketing the destination around the world to continue attracting more visitors and break the record again this year.”
According to the press release, in addition to its record-breaking leisure travel growth, in 2016 Las Vegas also enjoyed record-breaking convention visitation. Last year, Sin City welcomed upwards of 6.3 million business travelers, which also contributed to the overall rise in visitor traffic. Aiding in the destination’s growth, Las Vegas leads the industry in occupancy rates, with its available rooms at nearly 150,000.
In the Las Vegas valley and in southern Nevada, nearly $52 billion annually is generated by tourism. Nearly 370,000 local jobs are supported by the industry, which represents more than 40 percent of jobs within Clark County, according to the LVCVA.
The LVCVA is predicting another record-breaking year in 2017, and anticipates that for the first time visitation will surpass 43 million.
The record visitation growth is in keeping with a December report from the American Automobile Association that predicted Las Vegas was among the top destination cities expected to benefit from the record year-end holiday travel period last year.