Tourism

Oscar Goodman rolling out the red carpet in Las Vegas

Former Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman takes the stage with a martini and showgirls before an event Thursday, Oct. 13, 2011. Goodman now acts as the city's ambassador.

Former Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman hasn’t been in the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority limelight for six months, since his term as mayor and board chairman of the LVCVA came to an end.

Southwest Airlines to buy $19 billion worth of jets

Southwest Airlines planes sit at McCarran International Airport.

The busiest air carrier at McCarran International Airport today announced plans to be the first customer for Boeing’s newest version of the twin-engine 737 jet.

Lawsuit filed in Las Vegas helicopter crash

In this photo provided by the National Transportation Safety Board on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011, investigators examine the wreckage of a sightseeing tour helicopter from Las Vegas that crashed in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area in Nevada near the Hoover Dam. The Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011, crash killed the pilot and four tourists, including a couple from Kansas and a couple from New Delhi, India.

A lawyer representing a honeymooning couple from India killed in a Las Vegas sightseeing helicopter crash has filed the first negligence lawsuit in the case.

NTSB releases preliminary report on tour helicopter crash

In this photo provided by the National Transportation Safety Board on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011, investigators examine the wreckage of a sightseeing tour helicopter from Las Vegas that crashed in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area in Nevada near the Hoover Dam. The Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011, crash killed the pilot and four tourists, including a couple from Kansas and a couple from New Delhi, India.

Federal investigators are looking at unexpected turns and a sudden climb that a Las Vegas sightseeing helicopter made moments before a crash that killed the pilot and four passengers who were marking marriage milestones.

How used soap, shampoo from Las Vegas hotels can save lives

Mike Brennan, left, and James Benson sort hotel shampoo, lotion and conditioner bottles at Clean the World Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2011.

It’s a scene that plays out thousands of times a day on the Strip: Tourists rip open hotel room soaps, pop open complimentary bottles of shampoo, conditioner and body wash, and use them once or twice. Then they leave, and the amenities sit half-full on a bathroom counter. Not so long ago, those soaps and shampoos were thrown away. Now, they’re being recycled to help save lives. A number of Strip resorts have partnered with the nonprofit group Clean the World to collect partially used hotel room toiletries and recycle them for use by people in need in the United ...

New flights at McCarran are drawing attention

A WestJet airplane takes off from McCarran International Airport on Friday, Aug. 26, 2011.

The “international” part of McCarran International Airport has received a lot of attention lately. Now, a website offering analysis of airline routes and airport traffic has determined that McCarran had the biggest increase in new international routes in 2011 of any U.S. airport.

UNLV offers a helping hand for businesses large and small

Paul Jarley is the dean of the Lee Business School at UNLV.

When Southern Nevada entrepreneur Peter Maksymec needed help in developing a product he’d invented, UNLV was there for him. Dr. Andrew Hardin, director of UNLV’s Center for Entrepreneurship, evaluated the product and went into action. He assigned one of his MBA teams to draw up a summary and business plan.

Lessons learned at the finish line of the Rock ’n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon

Runners head northbound on the Las Vegas Strip during the Zappos.com Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon Sunday, December 4, 2011. The marathon and half-marathon attracted 44,000 official entrants from all 50 states and 54 countries, organizers said.

What a week it was for tourism news: An estimated 44,000 people raced down the iconic Las Vegas Strip, online poker suffered a blow and the National Transportation Safety Board looked at a recent helicopter crash.

NTSB: Helicopter's engine had been replaced before deadly flight that killed five

Mechanics work on a grounded Sundance tour helicopter on the tarmac at McCarran International Airport Thursday, Dec. 8, 2011, in Las Vegas. A Sundance tour helicopter crashed killing the pilot and four passengers on Dec. 7.

New evidence concerning the engine and the erratic flight pattern of the tour helicopter that crashed Wednesday has emerged from the National Transportation Safety Board’s first day of investigation — the engine had been replaced and the helicopter made a sudden climb and sharp left turn before crashing near Lake Mead and killing all five people aboard.

NTSB investigators return to scene of Lake Mead tour helicopter crash

Mechanics work on a grounded Sundance tour helicopter on the tarmac at McCarran International Airport Thursday, Dec. 8, 2011, in Las Vegas. A Sundance tour helicopter crashed killing the pilot and four passengers on Dec. 7.

A federal crash investigator said Friday in Henderson that a Las Vegas tour helicopter that crashed, killing all five people aboard, made a sudden climb and sharp turns moments before plunging into a canyon near Lake Mead.

Visitor numbers continue climbing, report says

Southern Nevada had 3.4 million visitors in October, the highest monthly total of the year and the most in one month since March 2007.

On the lookout for buckle bunnies in Las Vegas

Light hits every rhinestone on her hips, and her hair swings in time to the click of heels that have never seen dirt. You can’t miss the cut of her jeans or the cinched-on hardware, which looks heavy, real, borrowed. Maybe she won it with her own sweat. But chances are she did what Buckle Bunnies do — charmed it off a cowboy.

Health officials trying to pinpoint source of marathon illnesses

Runners head northbound on the Las Vegas Strip during the Zappos.com Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon on Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011. The marathon and half-marathon attracted 44,000 official entrants from all 50 states and 54 countries, organizers said.

Runners who became ill after the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon and half marathon Sunday night continue to register their complaints on Facebook, but at least one runner is happy: She got her money back.

NTSB plans to spend 3 days at site of fatal helicopter crash

A Metro Police Search and Rescue helicopter leaves a staging area with investigators as they head to a helicopter crash site near Lake Mead Thursday, December 8, 2011. Five people were killed when a tour helicopter crashed near the lake Wednesday.

The National Transportation Safety Board's 12-member investigative team will spend at least three days combing through the wreckage of a tour helicopter that crashed Wednesday near Lake Mead, killing all five aboard, authorities said today.

Official: U.S. has made improvements in meeting visa demands

While U.S. tourism attractions are clamoring for efforts to reduce the wait time for processing visa applications for foreign visitors, a Commerce Department official said today the State Department already has made gains to accommodate record demand.