Las Vegas: On Pace for Record Visitor Traffic in 2015, Conventions Returning

Another update ... during the recession, I wrote about the troubles in Las Vegas and included a chart of visitor and convention attendance: Lost Vegas.

Since then Las Vegas visitor traffic recovered to a new record high in 2014.

We only have data through September 2015, but visitor traffic is 2.4% above the record 2014 pace so far.

And convention attendance is returning. Here is the data from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.  

Click on graph for larger image.

The blue bars are annual visitor traffic (left scale), and the red line is convention attendance (right scale). 

Through September, visitor traffic in 2015 is running 2.4% above 2014.

Convention traffic is up 5.3% from last year, but is still below the pre-recession peak.  In general, the gamblers are back - and the conventions are returning.

It seemed like there were many housing related conventions during the housing bubble, so it may be some time before convention attendance hits a new high.