Tourism

Tropicana's $180 million renovation turning heads

A view of the renovated pit area at the Tropicana Tuesday, May 24, 2011.

The history of the Las Vegas Strip has been a tumultuous one, defined as much by the wrecking ball as by the construction of some of the world’s largest and most expensive resorts.

27 May 2011
By Liz Benston

Tropicana: Five old things

New rooms. New sports book. New restaurants. The Tropicana has all of those.

27 May 2011
By Liz Benston

Tropicana: Five new things

In the past two years, the 54-year-old Tropicana has undergone a $180 million renovation. It barely looks like its former self -- a property known for having sub-par rooms and tacky décor.

27 May 2011
By Liz Benston

Casino MonteLago reopens at Lake Las Vegas

People browse the streets of MonteLago Village during the grand reopening of Casino MonteLago at Lake Las Vegas on Thursday, May 26, 2011.

It was a Las Vegas scene, circa 2007: Too many people, too few gambling machines and too few parking spaces for the throng of people on hand for what might be the only major casino opening of 2011.

26 May 2011
By Liz Benston

Las Vegas a top destination for busy Memorial Day weekend

Traffic is shown on Interstate 15 in this April 2011 file photo. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority said it expects more people to travel to the city this year despite higher gas prices.

Despite rising gasoline, airfare and hotel prices, more Americans are expected to travel for Memorial Day weekend this year, and Las Vegas is the No. 1 destination, according to some travel experts. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is predicting a 2 percent increase in visitors this year.

26 May 2011
By Kyle B. Hansen

Competing bill that would prohibit proposed Strip arena advances

CARSON CITY – Without debate, the Assembly passed a bill to head off an effort by Caesars Entertainment to build a $500 million sports and entertainment arena on the Las Vegas Strip.

23 May 2011
By Cy Ryan

Travel group looks to raise money to promote U.S. tourism

The newly formed Corporation for Travel Promotion will begin sorting out in the next four months how it will raise money from the travel and tourism industry to match funds being raised by visa application fees to begin promoting the United States abroad.

23 May 2011
By Richard N. Velotta

Las Vegas developer breaks ground on 500-foot Ferris wheel project

An artist's rendering of the Skyvue complex near Mandalay Bay on the Las Vegas Strip.

The developer of a 500-foot Ferris wheel and amusement park across from Mandalay Bay held a media event today to launch the project. The wheel will have 40 heated and air-conditioned passenger gondolas that each will hold 20 to 25 passengers.

23 May 2011
By Las Vegas Sun Staff

Five steps to quickly fix Las Vegas' taxi debacle

Cabs wait in line to pick up passengers coming into McCarran Airport Monday, November 8, 2010.

For millions of tourists who visit Las Vegas every year, the first person they meet after getting off the plane is one of the city’s unofficial ambassadors to the world — a taxi driver, 9,500 of whom work in Clark County.

23 May 2011
By Richard N. Velotta

Changes coming for LVCVA, Allegiant kills more routes

Today, I’m “emptying my notebook” of some recent tourism stories. The makeup of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority will undergo a big change in July, thanks primarily to term limits and new mayors and councilmen taking office next month.

23 May 2011
By Richard N. Velotta

'Mexico is a safe place to visit,' country's president tells Las Vegas audience

Mexican President Felipe Calderon, at right, sits with Peter Greenberg to discuss Mexico's tourism industry during the 2011 Travel & Tourism Summit on May 19, 2011, at Aria in Las Vegas.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon, who has elevated tourism to a cabinet-level post in his country and made the industry’s success a national priority, proclaimed Mexico to be safe for visitors despite news accounts of bloody drug cartel wars.

19 May 2011
By Richard N. Velotta

In Las Vegas, Janet Napolitano urges streamlined airport security process

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano speaks about advances in airport and travel security at the 2011 Travel & Tourism Summit on Thursday, May 19, 2011, at Aria in Las Vegas.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano today asked representatives of the world’s tourism industry for suggestions to streamline airport security bottlenecks that discourage people from traveling. “We’re moving away from the one-size-fits-all security model,” Napolitano said on the last day of the event.

19 May 2011
By Richard N. Velotta

Convention hall for travel and tourism summit a stunner

Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority President and CEO Rossi Ralenkotter participates on a panel at the Global Travel and Tourism Summit at Aria on Wednesday, May 18, 2011.

The set-up at most general conference gatherings is always the same: a stage with a podium or a head table for panelists and rows and rows of seats for the audience.

19 May 2011
By Richard N. Velotta

Panelists say travel still essential to cultivating business

Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority President and CEO Rossi Ralenkotter participates on a panel at the Global Travel and Tourism Summit at Aria on Wednesday, May 18, 2011.

No one really had to convince people at the Global Travel and Tourism Summit that business travel is critical to the industry. After all, many of the 1,000 attendees at the conference at the Aria had to fly thousands of miles to get to Las Vegas for the two-day event that wraps up today.

19 May 2011

Mandarin Oriental not expecting quick return on Vegas hotel

A view of Veer Towers, left, and the Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas are shown during a tour of MGM Mirage's CityCenter project Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009. The photo is taken looking east from the Aria toward Las Vegas Boulevard.

The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group isn’t expecting a quick return on its first Las Vegas hotel, which it opened at CityCenter in December 2009.

19 May 2011
By Amanda Finnegan
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