During the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority (LVCVA) board meeting held Mar. 11, officials analyzed the overall economic impact of visitors to the resort destination in 2013. While tourism fell flat last year, the city experienced an uptick in its convention segment.
Leisure and business visitor spending directly impacts a city through food and beverage, lodging, retail, transportation, etc. However, indirect economic impact results from other vendors such as dry cleaners, medical professionals, etc. Together, the total visitor spending amounted to 28.6 percent of the Southern Nevada GDP, approximating $27 million in non-gaming economic impact.
Comparing visitor volume to adjusted spending per visitor, about 58,800 less vacationers visited Las Vegas, resulting in a 0.2 percent decrease in adjusted spending. In the convention segment, the volume of visitors rose 3.3 percent with 163,400 additional attendees in 2013. Adjusted spending per delegate also increased by 5.9 percent, equaling $49 per visitor.
Overall, Las Vegas gained $7.4 billion in visitor spending last year, $1.7 billion of which is attributed to the LVCVA’s marketing efforts.
