With the popular Festive Season of Thanksgiving just concluding, 702 ENT wanted to see how successful this celebration was in Sin City. Unsurprisingly, Vegas ranked as the number one destination for US travelers.
Travelers who were craving some turkey with Sin City-style trimmings made Las Vegas the No. 1 vacation destination for Thanksgiving, according to AAA’s national forecast. Approximately 318,000 descended on the Las Vegas terrain during the five-day holiday weekend. Tony Illia, a spokesperson for the Nevada Department of Transportation claimed that about 60% of said travelers made the trip by car.
That’s a significant leap from the 104,000 vehicles that typically travel on Southern Nevada’s streets and highways on an average day. AAA officials stated that following Las Vegas, the most popular destinations during thanksgiving weekend were San Francisco, San Diego, Orlando, Florida, and New York.
“This ongoing travel trend is spurred by improvements in the economy, increased consumer spending and overall strength in consumer confidence,” AAA Nevada spokeswoman Cynthia Harris claimed.
Traveling through McCarran International Airport started earlier this year since local families are taking advantage of a change in the holiday calendar for the Clark County School District, where students were off the entire week for Thanksgiving.
About 1.2 million travellers passed through McCarran from 19th November to 28th November, according to Christine Crews, who’s an airport spokeswoman. Nevertheless, about 737,000 airline commuters came through the airport during the five-day holiday travel period that started last Wednesday — as tracked by the travel industry — a 7% jump from the same time last year.
Crews said that as expected, the busiest day at McCarran was Sunday, with about 140,000 travelers leaving Las Vegas or returning home. On the other hand, the least busiest time was Thanksgiving Day, with about 90,000 passengers going in and out.
In fact, airport officials had advised travelers to arrive at least two hours before scheduled departure times, mostly due to long lines for ticketing and security. They had also warned that the Terminal 1 long-term parking garage and Terminal 3 economy lot were expected to reach capacity over the weekend, and because of this, travelers were advised and directed to alternate parking facilities.
The influx of visitors to Las Vegas meant some serious cash was spent last weekend. It was estimated that out-of-town visitors spent about $201.1 million on food, hotels and gambling from Thursday to Saturday, a slight 0.4% increase from the same time last year, according to Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority figures.
Out of the 149,086 total available hotel rooms in the region, 92.6% will be occupied for the weekend, the authority said.
“Las Vegas is a popular travel destination, and Thanksgiving weekend provides a perfect opportunity for visitors to create a memorable holiday experience,” said Amanda Arentsen, a spokeswoman for the authority. “For many people, Thanksgiving represents a mix of traditions that often include enjoying a spectacular meal, visiting holiday displays or cheering on your favorite sports team.”
Indeed, what a festivity it was. We anticipate that the rest of the Festive Season will be equally successful with visitors wanting to spend their holidays in this beautiful City of Lights. To maximize your stay here be sure to contact 702 ENT. We know that coordinating, planning and organizing a holiday trip can be a nightmare. So rest assured you can depend on our concierge staff. Click here for more information.
