Vegas benefiting from boom in flying visitors
The world’s gambling capital, Las Vegas, was the summer holiday destination of choice for a record number of people in August, the latest tourist figures have shown.
Around 4.3 million people flew into the city’s McCarran International Airport over the month, a six per cent increase on the same month in 2006.
This brought the total number of flyers heading to Vegas so far this year to 32.2 million, almost a five per cent increase on the same period of last year.
Not surprisingly, the majority of the traffic was domestic, with Southwest, United, Delta and Continental making up the top five airline touching down in August, though the biggest increases were seen among the regional carriers.
Spirit Airways, the regional low-cost airline boasted a 337 per cent increase on its 2006 figures, showing that growing numbers of Americans are preferring to spend their money in the city’s casinos rather than on getting there.
Likewise, international traffic was also up, with around 187,000 foreign flyers using McCarran in August, representing around a 15 per cent increase, thanks partly to the introduction of services from Korean Airlines and MAXjet Airways.