Tourism - VEGAS INC

LVCVA ad campaign to drive visitors to trip-booking website

The character Las Vegasdotcom is featured in a new ad campaign for the lasvegas.com trip-booking website.

You probably don’t know much about 45-year-old Las Vegasdotcom. He’s an ordinary-looking guy, an insurance salesman, often confused with the Internet website that’s now selling rooms, show tickets and tours in Southern Nevada on behalf of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

8 January 2013

By Richard N. Velotta

Techies, celebrities and a U.S. president gather for this year's Consumer Electronics Show

A reporter looks at a Sony X-Reality PRO 4K Ultra HD television during a Sony news conference at the 2013 International CES in the Las Vegas Convention Center Monday, January 7, 2013.

Las Vegas' largest annual convention, which attracts techies and celebrities from around the world, opens this week on and around the Strip. The International Consumer Electronics Show trade show floor opens its doors Tuesday, although several activities began Sunday. It is sponsored by the Washington-based Consumer Electronics Association, a 2,000-member organization that supports the $206 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry.

7 January 2013

By Richard N. Velotta

Mark your calendar for this year's top events, conventions

Juan Galdamez sets up a HD Radio booth for the International CES at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada January 5, 2013. The annual CES electronics technology trade show is expected to cover 1.85 million square feet of exhibition space and attract 150,000 attendees. The show begins January 8.

Among the most significant this year will be the arrival of four relatively small conferences that could pay enormous dividends to Las Vegas if history repeats.

7 January 2013

By Richard N. Velotta

The biggest stories of 2013

It’s a clean slate. After a four-day New Year’s weekend, it’s time to dust off the old crystal ball to predict the top tourism business stories of the year.

7 January 2013

By Richard N. Velotta

Passenger traffic at Las Vegas airport dips slightly in November

Southwest Airlines planes sit at McCarran International Airport.

Passenger traffic at McCarran International Airport dropped slightly for the third month in a row in November, according to statistics released Friday. Traffic dropped 0.3 percent in November compared to the same month last year, with a total of 3.31 million travelers arriving or departing.

28 December 2012

By Conor Shine

Rooms remain available at premium prices for New Year’s Eve

A view of a renovated room at the Stratosphere, April 5, 2012.

The booking desk at the Stratosphere stayed busy this week with people seeking last-minute places to crash on New Year's Eve.

27 December 2012

By Ron Sylvester

9 things discovered at the bottom of Siren’s Cove at TI

A crew member paints the pirate ship used in "The Sirens of TI" during dry dock, when water is drained from the bay for maintenance and repairs, at Treasure Island.

Workers never know what they’re going to find at the bottom of the bay at Treasure Island. Shopping carts, baby strollers, even a heavy concrete trash receptacle are among the items found when workers drain the 1.5 million gallon Siren’s Cove for its annual maintenance. Since Dec. 3, the bay where "The Sirens of TI" plays nightly has been empty for painting and repairs.

27 December 2012

By Ron Sylvester

Grading my Las Vegas business predictions for this year

In baseball, you have to be successful only one at-bat out of three to be considered for the Hall of Fame. If I were a professional baseball player, I would have had a pretty good year when predicting the top stories of 2012. Here’s my scorecard on those predictions.

24 December 2012

By Richard N. Velotta

X Train aims to make a party of the Southern California-Las Vegas trip

The "X" Train by Las Vegas Railway Express.

Michael Barron sees them all the time on business trips: party people who start celebrating their arrival to Las Vegas before the plane touches down at McCarran International.

21 December 2012

By Richard N. Velotta

By the numbers: A look at New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas

Crowds watch and react to the fireworks display above the strip on New Year's Eve, Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011.

After 14 years, Las Vegas residents may take fireworks over the Strip on New Year's Eve for granted. But plans for this year's "America's Party" fireworks show have been in the works since the sparks settled from New Year's Eve 2011.

20 December 2012

By Ron Sylvester

High-speed rail not just for tourists

Dr. Robert Lang, of Brookings Mountain West at UNLV, made the case last week that as soon as the XpressWest high-speed rail line is operational, millions of Inland Empire business people will have better access to McCarran International Airport than to Los Angeles International.

17 December 2012

By Richard N. Velotta

Joe Downtown: Airstreams the next boutique hotel for downtown?

What if you could rent out a sleek Airstream recreational vehicle for the night as a hotel room? The idea to put an Airstream park in downtown Las Vegas is being one kicked around by the Downtown Project.

12 December 2012

By Joe Schoenmann

Big league baseball, soccer games coming to Las Vegas

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority board of directors on Tuesday approved two measures that will bring professional sports teams to Las Vegas for exhibition games. The board also agreed to sponsor a special event to bring visitors to Mesquite.

11 December 2012

By Richard N. Velotta

Sandoval names 2 Las Vegans to state boards

Gov. Brian Sandoval has named two Las Vegans to state boards. Brian Ayala, president of Ayala’s Concession Group, an airport retail concession business, has been appointed to the Nevada Commission on Tourism.

10 December 2012

By Cy Ryan

Economists: Las Vegas poised for steady, sustainable growth

If Las Vegas and Southern Nevada can limp through the next two years, the region could see long-term economic growth rivaling the days before the Great Recession.