Tourism

Governor in tourism spat

The Nevada Tourism Commission, which seeks to lure vacationers by promoting attractions in this state, needs a new director to fill the vacancy created by the resignation in September of Tim Maland. His departure, following reports Gov. Jim Gibbons had lost confidence in him, triggered a state law that requires the commission to submit a list of three names to the governor.

9 January 2009

Tourism industry stunned by governor’s latest fireworks

The Strip party wasn’t the only place where there were New Year’s Eve fireworks. On Dec. 31, Gov. Jim Gibbons fired off a news release defending his aborted appointment of a state tourism director and criticized Nevada’s efforts to market the state in Asia. Gibbons’ latest salvo and Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki’s response coupled with actions taken by the Nevada Tourism Commission last week all but assures that 2009 isn’t going to start out as the happy new year many in the tourism industry are hoping for.

9 January 2009
By Richard N. Velotta

Bowling event at Cashman: $75 million strike for economy

Bowling central: One of the largest bowling centers in Southern Nevada is shown under construction Jan. 5 at Cashman Center for the upcoming U.S. Bowling Congress Open Championships that will run through August.

An estimated 150,000 people will come through Las Vegas over the next six months as part of a competition that will temporarily turn a portion of Cashman Center into one of the largest bowling centers in Las Vegas. Competition among more than 85,000 bowlers on 17,200 teams begins Feb. 21 and runs 154 straight days through July 24.

9 January 2009
By Richard N. Velotta

New rooms provide reasons for optimism

Teresa Ninman, center, of Las Vegas greets her friend LaNor Maltby, who flew in from Milwaukee, in November at McCarran International Airport. Capacity at the airport fell about 15 percent in 2008, but some airlines are adding flights -- and other things may be looking up for the local economy.

Although pessimists don’t expect Las Vegas’ Strip economy to fare better in 2009 than it did in 2008, there are rays of hope that Vegas’ tourism industry will improve this year. The reason: Las Vegas thrives when resorts open. Just look back to when Luxor and Treasure Island opened in 1993 and when Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, the Venetian and Paris Las Vegas opened in 1998-99.

5 January 2009
By Richard N. Velotta

Trade shows bringing mobs to Vegas when it needs it most

A worker sets up the Panasonic booth for last year's Consumer Electronics Show. This year's begins Thursday.

Strip resorts, restaurants, show producers and exotic dancers reeling from slumping tourism will get a boost in coming weeks with four major conventions and trade shows each bringing more than 80,000 attendees to town. The largest of them, the International Consumer Electronics Show, anticipates 2,700 exhibitors, about the same as last year.

5 January 2009
By Richard N. Velotta

Gibbons skirts law in picking travel chief

Gov. Jim Gibbons ignored state law in appointing the friend of a top adviser to head the state’s Commission on Tourism — an appointment that even the governor’s staff acknowledges did not follow normal protocol.

27 December 2008
By David McGrath Schwartz,
Cy Ryan

Lead tourism director appointed; job in jeopardy

Kirk Montero knows his new job as state tourism director might not last very long.

24 December 2008
By Cy Ryan

Southwest to cut only one Vegas flight this summer

Pullin Sheth, left, of San Jose, Calif., listens to an iPod and plays games on his phone during a flight delay this month at McCarran International Airport. As of November, the overall capacity at the airport serving Las Vegas is down 15 percent from a year ago.

Southwest Airlines, the busiest air carrier at McCarran International Airport, has released its summer schedule, and the damage to the Las Vegas market was minimal.

22 December 2008
By Richard N. Velotta

Governor's annual tourism conference canceled

The tourism industry’s premiere event in the state, the annual Governor’s Conference on Tourism, has been canceled.

2 December 2008
By Richard N. Velotta

Southwest Airlines announces code share with Mexican airline

Southwest Airlines has announced a code-share agreement with a Mexican airline that eventually would lead to connecting flights throughout Mexico.

10 November 2008
By Richard N. Velotta

Number of visitors to Las Vegas slides in August

The number of visitors to Las Vegas dropped 4.3 percent in August compared to a year ago.

10 October 2008
By Tim Richardson

They’re cutting back, but they're having fun

Jim Erbes and his son Andy, 13, of Scottsdale, Ariz., take a break from touring Las Vegas at the corner of the Strip and Tropicana Avenue on Monday. Erbes, a retired university professor, said the family had considered a trip to the Dominican Republic but decided to vacation closer to home because of the economic downturn.

Jim Erbes came to Las Vegas because of the economy, not despite it. He cut his vacation with his wife and son from $5,000 worth of airfare and resort stays to a 310-mile drive from Scottsdale and two days at the Excalibur for $63 each.

7 October 2008
By Mike Trask

Korean Air puts hold on flights to Vegas

Korean Air has suspended Las Vegas’ only nonstop link to Asia.

26 September 2008
By Richard N. Velotta

Visitor numbers see largest fall since 2003

Las Vegas in July experienced its largest monthly decline in visitor traffic since the start of the Iraq war in March 2003, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported today.

10 September 2008
By Liz Benston

McCarran passenger traffic falls 8.6 percent

Traffic at McCarran International Airport last month was down 8.6 percent compared to a year earlier, according to numbers released today.

21 August 2008
By Tim Richardson
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