Las Vegas: Labor Day visitation boost still expected

An August report from travel-organizing app TripIt found the city has the most U.S.-origin round-trip flight reservations over the holiday weekend of any city, beating other destination markets such as Denver; Orlando, Florida; and Cancun, Mexico.

“Major holidays like Labor Day weekend were a big deal for Las Vegas before (the pandemic), and it definitely represents an especially important time for Las Vegas this year,” said Josh Swissman, founding partner of gaming and hospitality consulting agency The Strategy Organization. “This increase in the number of visitors, and the infusion of cash that comes along with them, couldn’t come at a more important time for the city.”

‘More mileage out of their dollar’

Last year, Las Vegas was listed as the third most popular destination city for Labor Day Weekend — below Denver and Chicago — and claimed about 4 percent of all round-trip flight reservations that weekend, according to TripIt.
This year, projected volume increased 45 percent to a 6 percent share between Sept. 4 and 8.

Kelly Soderlund, TripIt’s senior manager of communications, said Las Vegas typically ranks among the top destination markets, but travel restrictions in other states is expected to give the city a boost this year.
“There’s undeniably some quarantine fatigue and people want to enjoy themselves again,” she said via email. “And with many popular US destinations, such as Hawaii and New York, requiring 14-day quarantines (and other countries restricting or preventing travel altogether), the available options for U.S. travelers has shrunk."

Resort deals could also incentivise visitors, according to Brendan Bussmann, director of government affairs for Global Market Advisors LLC.

“Current conditions have allowed for visitors to get more mileage out of their dollar,” he said, pointing to free self-parking and, in some cases, no resort fees. “It’s still a great time to come to Vegas because of the amount of resources that properties continue to put into the health and safety of their guests and employees.”

Swissman said the city is likely still seeing pent-up demand from travelers who are only just beginning to venture outside their homes. He added that even though entertainment options are limited, Las Vegas is still able to offer warm weather, pools, dining options, gaming and renowned customer service.

It’s unclear how drive-in traffic will affect tourism rates over the weekend, but Bussmann said it’ll likely bring in an even larger share of visitors.

“(Las Vegas) is still very dependent on the regional drive-in market,” he said. “Lift continues to be a challenge across the country as airlines have limited routes, including those non-stops in and out of Las Vegas.”