Las Vegas welcomes international tourists again, airport traffic surges in July
Las Vegas welcomed more foreign visitors through Harry Reid International Airport in July than any other month in Sin City since COVID-19 arrived in Southern Nevada in early 2020.
The Clark County Aviation Department, which owns and operates Harry Reid International Airport, issued a warning Monday about heavy traffic in July. Airport officials said the facility served nearly 4.94 million passengers last month, the airport's third-best month on record. Only October 2022 and May 2023 will see an increase in passenger numbers.
However, July 2023 was the best month for international traffic since the pandemic. As of February 2021, more than 290,500 foreign travelers have arrived and departed from McCarran Airport.
International shipments increased 13.5% year-on-year. Foreign guests continue to return to Southern Nevada in July, with international traffic up 41% year-to-date.
Domestic travel rose 1% to about 4.57 million.Southwest Airlines remains the dominant airline with nearly 1.9 million passengers. Domestic passenger traffic increased by 12.5% from January to July.
The remaining passenger traffic in July came from helicopters and private jets.
Games are booming
Nevada casinos are making more money from players than ever before. Gross gaming revenue (GGR) hit a new high of $14.84 billion last year. That significantly surpasses the state’s previous best gaming year of $13.4 billion in 2021.
2023 will likely be another record year. Through June, Nevada casinos’s GGR increased 3.6% over 2022.
The continued return of international tourists, particularly from Asia, is expected to further boost gaming revenue. While slot prizes and revenue continue to rise for most table games, baccarat's heights remain unchanged from pre-pandemic 2019 levels. Baccarat is the game of choice for many high rollers from Asia.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board is expected to release its July revenue report on Wednesday. Baccarat should see growth as there are more foreigners in town over the last month, assuming these casinos don't experience poor win rates on the card game.
International Focus
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) is committed to increasing the number of foreign visitors to Southern Nevada. LVCVA chairman Steve Hill said earlier this month that work was underway to establish direct routes to Japan.
Hill said talks to provide direct flights from Tokyo to Las Vegas were nearly complete before the pandemic hit. Hill said those discussions have since resumed but did not specify which airlines, if any, might be willing to bet on a route from Las Vegas via Tokyo.
International travelers are popular in Las Vegas. They tend to stay longer, gamble more, and spend more on shopping and dining than domestic guests.
Toronto is the leading international regional airport to Las Vegas, handling approximately 198,000 passengers in 2022. London was second with 176,000 passengers and Mexico City was third with 170,000 passengers.
In 2022, flights from Beijing, China, were suspended for the third consecutive year. Flights to and from the Chinese capital Las Vegas only resumed this month.
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Source: www.casino.org
