Tourism Myths

When I endured some of the irrational statements made to elicit support for Predatory Gambling in Massachusetts, one of the bogus issues employed was that tourists plan their vacations around Gambling.  

Although it was irrational at the time, unsupported by fact, the study below offers insight.

Only 13% travel to Las Vegas, Gambling Capital of the US, to Gamble.

Visitors are becoming progressively more 'local,' seeking out bargains, reducing their spending.




To bolster his point, Choy moves his index finger to an LVCVA report that shows 13 percent of visitors to Las Vegas said they come to the city specifically to gamble.


http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2012/may/27/riviera-ceo-andy-choy-takes-gamble-classic-casino/

LVCVA report provides snapshot of the prototypical Las Vegas visitor

Sam Morris

Tourists walk on the Las Vegas Strip on Thursday, April 28, 2011.

By Richard N. Velotta (contact)

Wednesday
11 April 2012

The prototypical Las Vegas visitor in 2011 was a 49-year-old, white, married, Southern California man who has a college degree and earns $100,000 a year or more.

He came here with someone else, spent at least three nights, paying about $84 a night for a room purchased online after some Internet research. He drove here and spent about $275 for food and beverages, $135 for shopping, $65 for transportation, $48 for shows and $11 for sightseeing.
More than likely, he didn’t venture downtown.

He spent about three hours a day gambling with a budget of $448 — he’s gradually spent less gambling over the last five years and has become less likely to return to Vegas because there are casinos closer to home.

That’s the snapshot the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority captured in its 2011 Visitor Profile Study using the resources of its marketing research staff and San Francisco-based GLS Research.

A summary of the report was presented Tuesday to the LVCVA’s board of directors.

The report was developed from 300 interviews a month through the year by GLS researchers questioning Las Vegas visitors.

Kevin Bagger, the LVCVA’s senior director of marketing, said the information provided in the 104-page report would help the agency develop marketing strategies and enable resorts and attractions in Las Vegas to better understand their customers.

The LVCVA bases most of its budget and advertising decisions on market research. In fiscal year 2013, the LVCVA plans to spend $85.1 million for advertising and $33.4 million for marketing.

Visitor profile studies, which have been compiled for 35 years, enable the LVCVA to observe trends over time. They’ve been valuable in quantifying visitor behavior during the recession and helping resorts determine their strengths and weaknesses.

In addition to demographic profiles, the study addresses the types of properties visitors seek, how they find out about them, frequency of visits, transportation, activities, places visited, entertainment, what they thought of their visit and whether they would come back.

The survey also has started exploring how people use social media to decide what to do in Las Vegas.

Among key findings in the 2011 report:

• The proportion of visitors who gambled in Las Vegas has declined from 85 percent in 2008 to 77 percent in 2011.

• Among those who gambled, their budget has gotten smaller. In 2007, average visitors said they budgeted $556 to play. In 2011, it was $448.

• Fewer people are attending shows in Las Vegas — 60 percent last year compared with 72 percent in 2008. They are more often going to lounge shows with fewer paying to see headliners or comedians.

• The satisfaction rate with Las Vegas is very high — 99 percent are either very or somewhat satisfied with the experience. The biggest reasons for not being satisfied are hotel complaints and the trip being too short or too expensive.

http://www.vegasinc.com/news/2012/apr/11/deconstructing-prototypical-las-vegas-visitor/

Las Vegas continues decline

Las Vegas Hilton, Riviera post quarterly losses
By Steve Green

The recession and the over-supply of hotel rooms in Las Vegas continued to punish the Las Vegas Hilton and the nearby Riviera Las Vegas hotel-casinos during the fourth quarter, newly-filed financial reports show.

Bankrupt Riviera Holdings Corp., owner of the Rivieras in Las Vegas and Black Hawk, Colo., said in its annual report this week that the 2,075-room Riviera Las Vegas generated net revenue of $79 million in 2010, down from $92 million in 2009.

In Las Vegas, casino revenue for the year ... fell 14.3 percent while room revenue ... fell 5.9 percent. The average daily room rate fell 5.9 percent to $57.01. Occupancy, however, was nearly 81 percent, an improvement from 77.4 percent a year earlier.

The Hilton, with 2,650 rooms and 300 suites, said its hotel revenue remained steady from 2009 to 2010 ...

"In 2010, table games revenue decreased approximately 19.6 percent and slot revenue decreased approximately 16.4 percent compared to revenues in 2009.....

Riviera Hotel Files For Bankruptcy

Riviera Hotel Files For Bankruptcy

The owner of the Riviera Hotel & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip has filed for bankruptcy protection. Riviera Holdings Corp. filed Chapter 11 under a pre-negotiated deal that will end up transferring the ownership of the company to secured lenders. The reorganization plan has the approval of a majority of the lenders holding parts in it's nearly $248 million in debt. The filing has no impact on the day to day running of the Riviera hotel and casino in Las Vegas and the Riviera in Black Hawk, Colorado which remain open.

Riviera Holdings lost $4.5 million as revenue fell in the first quarter. While room occupancy was up, the average room rate in Las Vegas continued to fall as the hotel competed with other Strip properties which have also been dropping their prices.

Like many Las Vegas properties, the Riviera has been affected by the drop in tourism. The property itself has also suffered because of its north Strip location. Many of the casinos on that end of the glittering boulevard have been torn down or sold to make room for new resorts. Unfortunately the economic turmoil has meant that many properties haven't been built or, like the Fontainebleau project, have been delayed. Visitors to the Las Vegas strip tend to cluster in certain areas, most likely visiting other properties that are a short walk away.