Tourism

For $6,800, Las Vegas visitors can live the life of James Bond

For $6,800, Las Vegas visitors can live the life of James Bond

A Las Vegas tour company just launched a three-day, two-person Las Vegas bonding experience — as in James Bond. The “Secret Agent 702” tour gives couples a chance to live the adventures of a spy. ...

10 August 2012
By Richard N. Velotta

Las Vegas sees slight climb in visitor numbers

Attendees crowd the trade show floor during the IFT Food Expo at the Las Vegas Convention Center, June 25, 2012.

Visitor volume showed a moderate increase in June over last year, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported Thursday, and for the first half of 2012, visitation is on pace to fall just short of an unprecedented 40 million tourists. The authority said 3.4 million people visited Las Vegas in June, 2.1 percent more than in June a year ago. For the first half of 2012, 19.9 million visitors arrived in the city, 2.4 percent more than in the first six months of 2011.

9 August 2012
By Richard N. Velotta

Las Vegas lands third, behind Orlando, Fla., and Washington, D.C., for top convention destination

The Las Vegas Convention Center is seen May 17th, 2012.

A global meetings and event management technology company that connects convention and meeting planners with the places that host them has listed its 50 top meeting destinations in the United States — and Las Vegas doesn’t top the list.

9 August 2012
By Richard N. Velotta

Tourism Commission makes a risky call by committing $600,000 to sponsor air show

When the Nevada Tourism Commission approved spending $600,000 to sponsor the Reno National Championship Air Races, it took a big risk.

6 August 2012
By Richard N. Velotta

Consultant, professor look to bring training for high-speed rail to UNLV

Sen. Harry Reid speaks to the media about progress on the DesertXpress high-speed rail project Friday, March 25, 2011, at the UNLV Science and Engineering building. With him, from left, is Nevada Department of Transportation Director Susan Martinovich, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and UNLV President Neal Smatresk.

A transportation expert and a UNLV professor want to leverage Las Vegas’ potential as a high-speed rail transportation hub to develop a university program dedicated to the research and study of high-speed rail. Tom Skancke, a public affairs consultant and president and CEO of the Skancke Company, and Harry Teng, an associate professor at UNLV’s Howard Hughes College of Engineering, plan to take their proposal — which they have been refining for almost two years — to university administrators early next year. They hope to affiliate what they tentatively are calling the International High Speed Rail Institute with UNLV’s engineering ...

6 August 2012
By Richard N. Velotta

Cocktail waitresses make lifelong careers serving casino customers

Longtime Palace Station waitress Lynda Allan, seen Thursday, April 26, 2012, holds a photo of herself when she was first hired.

Waitressing in any other city would likely be considered a dead-end job. But here in Las Vegas ...

5 August 2012
By Ron Sylvester

Allegiant earnings soar, while Hawaii service off to strong start

An Allegiant Air jet takes off from McCarran International Airport on Friday, Aug. 26, 2011.

Las Vegas-based Allegiant Travel Co., parent company of Allegiant Air, doubled earnings over last year’s second quarter thanks to a combination of higher ancillary revenue, reduced operational costs and a decline in the price of fuel.

1 August 2012
By Richard N. Velotta

Marriott Grand Chateau timeshares adding 223 units in Las Vegas

A third tower is under construction at the Marriott Grand Chateau timeshare villas on Harmon Avenue, just east of the Strip.

31 July 2012
By Ron Sylvester

Nevada gets the cold shoulder

The speedboat, bottom left, carrying the Olympic Flame, heads to Tower Bridge during the Opening Ceremony at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 27, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

When the curtain rose on the Olympic Games over the weekend, millions of people saw Big Ben, Tower Bridge, the London Eye and other icons. That’s exactly the kind of publicity Nevada hoped to get in 2022.

30 July 2012
By Richard N. Velotta

Las Vegas convention contractor sees rise in profits

One of Southern Nevada’s top convention contractors overachieved in the second quarter, driving higher earnings for Phoenix-based Viad Corp. Global Experience Specialists, the Las Vegas-based Marketing and Events Group subsidiary of Viad, helped drive a 15.5 percent increase in operating income for the division for the quarter that ended June 30.

27 July 2012
By Richard N. Velotta

Study finds Allegiant, Spirit generate high percentage of revenue from ancillary sources

An Allegiant Airlines jet takes off from McCarran International Airport Friday, August 26, 2011.

A company that monitors special airline fees says Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air generated 27 percent of its revenue from ancillary sources, the third-highest percentage among 50 airlines worldwide.

24 July 2012
By Richard N. Velotta

Which way do you go now?

A Copa Airlines passenger jet from Panama City, Panama receives a water cannon welcome as it arrives on it's inaugural flight to Las Vegas at the new Terminal 3 at McCarran International Airport Wednesday, June 27, 2012. The Copa Airlines service is the first direct flight from Central or South America to Las Vegas, said airport spokesman Chris Jones.

As Las Vegas International Airport — er, McCarran International Airport — moves into the next phase of Terminal 3, there are still a few housekeeping matters to tend to. Next week, some domestic air carriers will move their ticket counters into the new building. That means locals will have to start paying closer attention to where they pick up friends and family and where they park or get dropped off.

23 July 2012
By Richard N. Velotta

Famed Nevada hot springs celebrates 150th

David Walley's Hot Springs Resort, which dates back to when Nevada was a territory, was on the brink of fading into history two years ago. Now, it's about to celebrate its 150th anniversary.

16 July 2012
Associated Press

Beat the heat: Mount Charleston has room to grow without becoming Big Bear Lake

A truck heads down Kyle Canyon Road (Nevada State Route 157) on Mount Charleston on Thursday, April 5, 2012.

Big Bear Lake in Southern California is offering refuge from Southern Nevada’s heat this month. That got me to thinking about whether someday the Mount Charleston area could develop into a bigger summer haven than it already is — and if local residents would want to see that.

16 July 2012
By Richard N. Velotta

New York firm wins $3 million contract to promote Nevada tourism

Gov. Brian Sandoval says he knows there will be some concern with the state awarding a $3 million contract to an out-of-state firm to increase tourism in Nevada.

13 July 2012
By Cy Ryan
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