Tourism - VEGAS INC

Holding pattern: Expert sees slow recovery for McCarran

No tail wind: A Southwest Airlines jet takes off at McCarran International Airport as an American Airlines jet waits to taxi to its gate. Aviation analyst Mike Boyd expects McCarran traffic to begin to improve next year but says it won't reach 2008 levels for at least five years.

McCarran International Airport won’t fully recover from the current recession until at least 2014, a leading aviation expert says.

9 October 2009

By Richard N. Velotta

Balloon ride offers view 500 feet above the Strip

A view of the Las Vegas Strip during the official opening of Cloud Nine, the world's largest helium-filled, land-tethered balloon Thursday, Oct. 8, 2009.

The Las Vegas Strip got a new skyline attraction Thursday. Cloud Nine, the world’s largest helium-filled, land-tethered balloon, opened for business after an opening ceremony for VIPs and the news media. Taking flight across from Mandalay Bay, the balloon can bring up to 30 guests nearly 500 feet above the Strip. The balloon is seven stories wide and 11 stories tall and contains 210,000 cubic feet of helium. It’s tethered to the ground by a pulley system.

9 October 2009

By Amanda Finnegan

Skiers hit the slopes at Mount Charleston area resort

Skiers and snowboarders await a beginner slope at the Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort near Mount Charleston. The resort opened at noon on Wednesday, making it the second ski area in the lower 48 states to open this year.

In the middle of the desert, it’s already ski season. The Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort at Mount Charleston opened at noon Wednesday, making it the second ski area to open in the lower 48 United States this year. Loveland Ski Area in northern Colorado, the first U.S. resort to open this year, started its ski season Wednesday, too, but earlier – it opened at 9 a.m. “It feels great to tee it up with the Colorado guys,” said Craig Baldwin, base operations manager and spokesman for the resort. “This season’s gonna be good.”

8 October 2009

By Erin Dostal

Tourism bill advances with support of Nevada lawmakers

The Las Vegas Strip from the top of the Stratosphere.

WASHINGTON -- Legislation to promote Las Vegas and other U.S. tourism destinations abroad moved closer to passage this afternoon after the House approved a measure that has been championed by Nevada’s lawmakers. Both Democratic Reps. Shelley Berkley and Dina Titus spoke on the House floor today to help pass the legislation in the face of a political assault by the conservative Club for Growth.

7 October 2009

By Lisa Mascaro

Chicago’s failed Olympics bid could affect Nevada’s efforts

People celebrate after Rio de Janeiro won the nomination to host the 2016 Olympic Games at the Copacabana beach, in Rio de Janeiro on Friday. Nearly 50,000 people erupted in celebration when Rio was announced host, jumping and cheering in a Carnival-like party.

Representatives of the Reno-Tahoe Winter Sports Coalition hope to learn within weeks how Chicago’s failed bid for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games would affect efforts to attract the Winter Olympics to Nevada and California.

2 October 2009

By Richard N. Velotta

Mayor: Reno's proposed new slogan 'embarrasses' city

Tourism is big business in Nevada and the catchy slogans used to market hubs like Reno and Las Vegas can help lure visitors. Las Vegas recently revived its signature campaign, “What happens here,” which sold the city for years.http://www.lasvegassun.com/admin/news/stories/add/#

2 October 2009

Staff and wire services

Passenger downturn continues at McCarran

McCarran International Airport has now had declining monthly passenger traffic for a year and a half after the Clark County Aviation Department reported 9.8 percent fewer customers in August over the same month a year ago.

2 October 2009

By Richard N. Velotta

Will Vegas advertising that worked before, work again?

Sean Corbett, Director of Digital Marketing, sits during a brainstorming meeting for the LVCVA account at the office of R&R Partners in Las Vegas Friday, Aug. 21.

For an ad man with an ounce of imagination, Las Vegas is rich with sales material — cheering gamblers, sexy nightclubs, celebrity-chef restaurants, haute couture boutiques and stunning stage productions. But none of these would be highlighted in Las Vegas’ most successful advertising campaign. Instead, the commercials would only tease, thick with innuendo, to unspoken tourist experiences. “What happens here, stays here” sold Vegas for years.

27 September 2009

By Liz Benston

The party’s over for out-of-control nightclubs, regulator says

It’s quite an electric scene, those casino nightclubs. But in their quest to have a wild time in Vegas, some clubbers misbehaved. And, in their bid to be recognized as the hippest place in town, club managers looked the other way.

25 September 2009

By Richard N. Velotta

County plans to turn billboards over to one company

Airport ads: McCarran International Airport is turning over the management of 43 billboards, such as these on Swenson Street east of Terminal 1, to a single company to generate more revenue.

The billboards near McCarran International Airport are one of the first clues to tourists that they aren’t in Kansas anymore.

25 September 2009

By Richard N. Velotta

Money magazine: Boulder City among top places to retire

While working part-time at B.C. Adventure Bicycles, cyclist Don Sanders, 62, discusses the reasons he and his wife settled down in Boulder City after moving from Phoenix four years ago.

Councilwoman Linda Strickland was not surprised to see Boulder City named among the 25 Best Places to Retire by Money magazine. She understands the appeal of the quiet town of about 16,000 situated between Lake Mead and Las Vegas.

25 September 2009

By Jean Reid Norman

Siegel wants St. Tropez upgrade to match Gold Spike's

Michael Crandall, left, director of business affairs for the Siegel Group, and company founder Stephen Siegel look over a suite at the St. Tropez Hotel, 455 E. Harmon Ave., on Sept. 9. The Siegel Group recently purchased the hotel, which it plans to renovate and market as a boutique hotel.

People who have seen the transformation of downtown Las Vegas’ Gold Spike can’t wait to see what Stephen Siegel, president and CEO of the Siegel Group, has in store for his newest property, the St. Tropez.

18 September 2009

By Richard N. Velotta

Voluntary separations may stave off LVCVA layoffs

It’s no secret that Southern Nevada’s tourism economy is suffering big-time because of the recession. Now, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is feeling the financial pinch and has a plan to cut its workforce.

18 September 2009

By Richard N. Velotta

State tourism group won't team up with larger convention

No decision has been reached on whether a scaled-down version of the Governor’s Tourism Conference will be held in December, but one thing is fairly certain: The conference won’t be held along with a larger event such as the Nevada Hotel & Lodging Association show.

18 September 2009

By Richard N. Velotta

Tourism decline in July was shallowest for 2009

Southern Nevada had its shallowest year-over-year percentage decline in visitation in July, and other indicators tell the story of an industry blistered by a rough economy.