City to welcome 500 millionth visitor

That's the figure Las Vegas tourism officials are kicking around this week as the city marks National Tourism Week.

On Wednesday morning, the 500 millionth visitor since 1960 will be welcomed to Las Vegas in a special ceremony at McCarran International Airport.

The event will be one of the highlights of a week featuring the message - be kind to tourists.

And for good reason.

A total of 30.4 million tourists visited Las Vegas last year, contributing nearly $25 billion to the area's economy.

The theme for the special observances this week is "Las Vegas: Welcoming the World."

The observance is part of a nationwide promotion by the Travel Industry Association of America.

"Some people kind of forget once in a while what makes this town go 'round and 'round," said Ed Crispell, general manager of Imperial Palace Hotel-Casino and chairman of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce. "This reminds people to be kind to our guests, a little more customer-friendly."

The 500-millionth visitor will receive five years of Las Vegas vacations for two, including round-trip air fare aboard Southwest and two nights stay starting in 1999 at Caesars Palace, then at Sam's Town, Treasure Island, The Mirage and MGM Grand over the succeeding years.

In Clark County, there were more than 166,000 people directly employed in the motel, hotel, gaming and recreation industries in 1997, according to Ira David Sternberg, chairman of tourism for the chamber of commerce.

Las Vegas has nearly doubled its visitor volume since 1988, when the city counted 17.2 million visitors. Spending by tourists has increased from $10 billion to $24.9 billion annually during that period, and gaming revenues have jumped from $3.1 billion to $6.1 billion.

Still, there are challenges, with room inventory increasing from 61,394 in 1988 to 105,347 today.

The visitor count has not kept pace with the increase in rooms, and the room occupany level has dropped from 90.4 percent in 1996 to 86.4 percent in 1997.

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