‘Popular destination’: July 4th to bring 334K visitors to Las Vegas

As many as 334,000 people are projected to visit Las Vegas and surrounding areas over the five-day Fourth of July holiday weekend, hospitality industry officials said Thursday.

The visitor estimation is roughly 5.4 percent higher than the total during the four-day Fourth of July holiday last year, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Estimated Friday-through-Tuesday occupancy is expected to rise to 93 percent, about two percentage points higher than 2022. The long weekend is projected to generate $386 million in direct spending and $682 million in indirect spending.

Resorts are preparing for an active five days, as desert temperatures climb above 100 degrees. Virginia Valentine, president of the Nevada Resort Association, said the demand for travel to Las Vegas is strong and that visitors have more to do in town this holiday stretch, such as pool parties, residencies, a WNBA home game and fireworks shows across the valley.

“With the holiday falling on a Tuesday, visitors are taking advantage of a longer stay, which is great for our local economy,” Valentine said in a statement. “The longer a visitor stays, the more they spend during their trip. This spending generates sales, gaming and other taxes for the state which pays for critical services for residents.”

Lori Nelson-Kraft, spokesperson for the LVCVA, said the holiday marks the beginning of an active point in the calendar. With Independence Day falling on a Tuesday, resorts expect to see two waves of visitation — some coming in for the weekend and others arriving Monday for the next week.

Beyond the holiday, events that will attract visitors to Las Vegas include the NBA’s Summer League beginning July 7 (expected to bring an estimated 42,000 out-of-town visitors, according to the LVCVA), UFC’s International Fight Week with events between July 6-9, and the CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer semifinals on July 12 at Allegiant Stadium.

“Vegas continues to be a popular destination in the summer months,” Nelson-Kraft said. “When you go back a decade or two, it used to be the quieter time. Now you’re seeing special events — live entertainment, sporting events and even youth and amateur sports — that come while trade shows are in the quiet phase.”

Holiday weekend room rates

Room rates for the long Fourth of July weekend are higher than typically expected in July, but travelers with last-minute plans to Las Vegas may still be able to find a hotel room that fits their budget.

A Thursday afternoon survey of room prices for 44 hotel-resorts on and near the Strip for a four-night stay, Friday to Tuesday, on Hotels.com found an average rate of roughly $220 per night, not including taxes and fees. Room rates fluctuate based on supply and demand and can change.

In July 2022, the average daily room rate in the area was $160.43, according to data from the LVCVA. On the Strip, it was $170.48.

Bargain travelers can book a room on the Strip for $77 per night, not including taxes and fees, at Circus Circus, the lowest price available Thursday. Meanwhile, luxury travelers can book the highest price room available, the Skylofts at MGM Grand, for $1,100 nightly.

Most other affordable rooms, at less than $100 per night without taxes and fees, could be found off the Strip: Boulder Station, Sam’s Town Hotel and Gambling Hall, and Gold Coast Hotel and Casino were all available as of Thursday afternoon. On the Strip, the Strat had rooms beginning at $87.

On the other end of the price spectrum, only the Skylofts, Wynn and Encore Las Vegas — the latter with nightly rates of $483 and $468, respectively — had available rooms priced above $400.

Getting to Vegas

The long holiday weekend is expected to see record-breaking travel volume across the country, according to AAA. It projects 50.7 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more for the long weekend between Friday and Tuesday — an increase of 2.1 million people compared to the previous year.

The highways between Southern California and Southern Nevada will be among those impacted by the increased travel, since more than a quarter of the region’s visitors come from Southern California, according to the LVCVA’s 2022 visitor profile.

The airlines are expecting high travel numbers, too. Officials with Harry Reid International Airport did not have projections for passenger travel to and from the airport but said it could match nationwide expectations that airports will have their busiest July 4 travel weekend on record.

The holiday travel comes just days after severe storms in the Northeast caused backups at U.S. airports this week. Joe Rajchel, spokesperson for Harry Reid International Airport, said travelers should watch out for how adverse weather could affect their flights.

“Aviation is such an interconnected system that delays in one location can cause a ripple effect,” he said in an email. “Those traveling should continue to monitor their flight status with their airline and be prepared with any essentials they may need in case they encounter a delayed flight.”

McKenna Ross is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Contact her at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on Twitter.