Las Vegas attracted 39.7 million visitors in 2013, just 58,802 visitors short of the city's record, according to a release from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA).
On top of that, Las Vegas' meetings and conventions industry experienced five-year highs in two key areas: number of meetings and conventions (22,027), and convention attendance (5.1 million).
"We are encouraged to see positive signs of continued growth for Nevada's leading economic engine, particularly in the meetings and convention industry," said Rossi Ralenkotter, president/CEO of the LVCVA. "We will continue building on our momentum in the coming year, and we expect to welcome more visitors to Las Vegas than ever before when several much anticipated resorts and attractions debut in 2014."
The entertainment hotspot-which supports more than 380,000 jobs and generated $45 billion for the local economy last year-has a number of openings scheduled for 2014, including The LINQ and High Roller, SLS Las Vegas, Delano Las Vegas, the downtown zipline SlotZilla, and Caesars Entertainment's new resort, The Cromwell.
The 40,000-square-foot Cromwell-which will take the place of Bill's Gamblin' Hall & Saloon on the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Flamingo Road-is on schedule to open in the spring. It will be the first luxury boutique hotel and casino in Las Vegas, sporting 188 rooms and suites, which will go on sale on its website on Feb. 24.
Included in the property's $185 million renovation: celebrity chef Giada di Laurentiis' first restaurant, Giada; a rooftop day and nightclub by Victor Drai; and a feel designed after the Costes Hotel in Paris.
As places like The Cromwell continue to add more value to the city, it's no wonder why Las Vegas' occupancy rate was 84.3 percent in 2013, 22 percent higher than the national average. The daily room rate also rose by an average of $3 in 2013, according to the LVCVA.
The Las Vegas Strip and Clark County gross gaming revenues rose by 4.8 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively.
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