2023 Las Vegas tourism ends with records for air passengers, casino wins
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LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Tourism is strong coming out of a record-breaking 2023, according to reports released Wednesday showing air travel and hotel revenues surging ahead.
November was a hard act to follow, with high-rollers flocking to Las Vegas for the return of Formula One, but December didn’t disappoint — even setting a record win for casinos on the Las Vegas Strip.
Air passengers at Harry Reid International Airport surged to a new high, hitting 57.6 million arriving and departing passengers. That’s 5 million more than 2022’s 52.6 million, which was the previous record. According to the Clark County Department of Aviation, 11 of the 12 months in 2023 set monthly records. October was the busiest month ever at the airport with 5.4 million passengers.
There’s no question that people are comfortable getting on planes again after hard years for airlines during the pandemic. Domestic travel at Reid Airport was at an all-time high with 53.3 million passengers. The year also saw 28% more international travelers.
Southwest Airlines, Reid’s largest carrier, continued to dominate the market. Southwest carried 1.8 million passengers in December. That’s 4% more than November levels, and 35% more than the number of Southwest passengers in December 2022.
Estimated visitation numbers released last week by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) backed that up, showing a 2.7% increase compared to December 2022. Visitor volume hit 3,397,500 in December and totaled 40,829,900 for the year — up 5.2% over 2022. The record from 2016 still stands, when 42.9 million visitors came to Las Vegas.
LVCVA tracks auto traffic on Interstate 15, too. Car trips have dropped 2.8% as air traffic has flourished.
And hotel rates remained just above 2022 levels, with the average daily rate at $186.82. On the Las Vegas Strip, the average was $198.83 in December — about $71 cheaper than November’s F1-inflated rates.
The average daily rates were far higher than prepandemic hotel rates. The overall average was about $125 in December of 2019.
RevPAR — revenue per available room — came down after two big months in October and November. December’s RevPAR came in at $149.27, an improvement of 6.8% over December 2022. For all of 2023, RevPAR neared $160, up 18% vs. 2022 levels.
And openings at Fontainebleau Las Vegas and Durango Casino & Resort pushed the number of available hotel rooms up by 2.5%.
Convention attendance lagged behind December 2022 levels.
As 2024 begins, airlines are already adding flights from Kansas City and San Francisco around Super Bowl LVIII.
