Las Vegas visitor volume has returned close to the prerecession levels of 2007, according to a report released today by the Center for Business & Economic Research (CBER) at UNLV.

As of September 2011, Las Vegas has experienced 19 consecutive months of increased tourism, but the habits and traits of visitors are changing. Visitors are coming from farther away, staying longer and paying higher hotel rates than in recent years, CBER reports. Visitors also seem to be gambling less and purchasing less from the retail shops in casinos.

"We are seeing favorable trends in tourism, but it could be some time before we return the prerecession levels of gaming," said Stephen Brown, CBER Director.

For the first nine months of 2011, visitor volume was an average of 4.7 percent higher than the same time period in 2010. But during 2011, the composition of Las Vegas tourists changed. Convention attendance rose by 9.9 percent and the number of other visitors rose by only 4 percent.

The report also revealed:

• Visitors came from farther away in the first nine months of 2011. A higher percentage of visitors arrived by air as passenger volume at Las Vegas McCarran airport was 4.4 percent higher than the first nine months of 2010.
• The number of visitors arriving by automobile continued to decline, signaling the weakness of the California economy. Visitors arriving by automobile were slightly higher than in 2007 before the recession.
• Taxi ridership was up 7.6 percent above the same period in 2010.

The UNLV Center for Business and Economic Research at the Lee Business School assists state and local agencies and private-sector enterprises with the collection and analysis of economic and market data in a way that contributes to the diversification and growth of the Southern Nevada economy.