Las Vegas Re-Visited

It’s been almost 5 months since I’ve mentioned one of the most visited cities in the United States……Las Vegas!!  Something different is going on almost every week, and I presume other than the gambling attraction, that is the reason many folks return for a brief visit.  Mostly,Las Vegas is a 3-4 night escape from reality. 

It was reported by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority in November that so far in 2014, they had recorded a record-breaking 40 million tourist, the best since 2012.  With the visitor count in November and December, they were predicting that by year end they could count over 41 million visitors.

The upside of all those visitors is that the hotel industry is feeling frisky with the hotel occupancy up to 87.7 percent.  Also, the average daily room rate was $113.51 in November, up 5.7% for the year.

Laughlin, the cute little gambling berg along the Colorado River just south of Las Vegas is also boasting about an increase in visitor count.  I noticed in our Abilene Reporter News an advertisement about a charter departing from here later this month with an attractive cost of only $279 for the 3 days, including air, hotel and transfers.

Of course all this influx of visitors certainly helps the economic state ofNevada. We haven’t even mentioned the visitor effect onReno,Lake Tahoeand Elko.  It is estimated that the visitor count helps generate around $45 billion annually and supports approximately 360,000 jobs in the state.

We’ve mentioned one of the new attractions that has been getting a lot of positive response, the High Roller.  It is a giant wheel with about 28 spherical cabins, considered the worlds highest, that gets you over 500 feet in the atmosphere aboveLas Vegas.  A ride all the way around the wheel takes about 30 minutes, but the view is worth the experience.

Another adventure activity in the city is the VooDoo Zip Line that runs from one tower at the Rio Hotel and Casino to an adjacent tower.  You sit in a ski lift-type seat and when released, you are zipped to the other tower at around 30 miles per hour, then you are returned at a more leisurely speed of 20 miles per hour.  You can just imagine that the folks who have experienced it say it is AWESOME!!!

Another interesting happening inLas Vegasis that the Clark Country commissioners have banned glass containers and bottles on the sidewalks ofLas Vegas.. .that’s for ALL beverages.   Drinks in plastic, paper or aluminum containers are still allowed.  They said the new ordinance was to reduce litter.  I say, “go figure”.

The experienced agents at The Travel Factory have been there, and have helped many of our friends enjoy this “city that never sleeps”, so give us a call at 698-1421 or 800-760-4040. We specialize in helping folks with  all of their travel needs.