Las Vegas Business Travelers Attendance Reaches 5-year High

February 5, 2014

The recessionary times are firmly in the rearview mirror in Las Vegas, with the most business travelers in the past five years having attended meetings and conventions in the city.

According to the 2013 year-end Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority’s Executive Summary, Las Vegas welcomed nearly 40 million visitors in 2013 and reached a five-year high in two key indicators for the meetings and convention industry:

• The meetings and convention industry reached a five-year high, with 5.1 million delegates attending a convention, trade show or meeting in 2013, reflecting a 3.3 percent increase, compared with last year's total of 4.9 million and the highest convention attendance since 2008.

• Las Vegas hosted 22,027 meetings, trade shows or conventions in 2013, up 1.9 percent from the 2012 total of 21,615. The 2013 total also is the highest number of meetings and conventions held in Las Vegas since 2008.

"We are encouraged to see positive signs of continued growth for Nevada's leading economic engine, particularly in the meetings and convention industry," said Rossi Ralenkotter, president and CEO of the LVCVA.

He added, "We will continue building on our momentum in the coming year, and we expect to welcome more visitors to Las Vegas than ever before when several much anticipated resorts and attractions debut in 2014."

Overall visitor volume last year also saw some positive numbers, with 39.67 million annual visitors, the second highest visitation total ever.

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