Over one-quarter of visitors to Las Vegas last year were making their first ever trip to Sin City, according to the latest tourism study.
On Wednesday, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) released its annual Visitors Profile Study for 2016, adding reams of detail to the preliminary figures released in January that showed the city welcoming a record number of tourists (42.9m) for the third straight year.
Some 27% of 2016’s visitors were first-timers, up from just 16% in 2015’s report. The LVCVA attributed the newbie surge to a number of factors, including a recovering national economy, more Millennials hearing Vegas war stories from their friends and ongoing investments by resort operators in new attractions and activities.
The average age of last year’s visitors was 44 years, down from 44.7 years in 2015. The number of twenty-something visitors grew by seven points last year to 19%, while those 65 or over fell seven points to 12%. Nearly one-fifth (19%) of visitors were international, three points higher than in 2015. The average stay was 3.4 nights, unchanged from the previous year.
‘Vacation/pleasure’ remained the most popular reason for visiting Vegas at 52%, up five points from last year, while just 4% came primarily to gamble, down from 10% in 2015 and from 15% as recently as 2013. Repeat visitors were more likely (5%) to cite gambling as their prime motivator than first-timers (3%).
Around 69% of all visitors did gamble during their stay, three points lower than in 2015, and 71% of those who did gamble did so for less than two hours versus just 50% in the 2015 survey. Overall, average time spent gambling totaled 1.9 hours, a full hour less than in 2015.
However, 2016’s average gambling budget was $619, up from $578 in 2015. Gambling budgets have risen each year since 2012, when the average spend was $484.70. One-quarter of gamblers spent under $100, ten points higher than in 2015, while those who spent over $600 fell seven points to 23%.
Non-gambling spending was also up year-on-year, with food & beverage rising $26 to $318, while ‘shopping, shows and sightseeing’ jumped more than one-quarter to $157. The number of visitors who attended shows, lounge acts and big-name headliner performances were all down last year, while comedy shows were up five points to 17% and “other paid attractions” jumped 10 points to 30%.
