Las Vegas expects big Memorial Day weekend

Memorial Day weekend — the traditional kickoff to summer vacations — is expected to be bigger than last year, local tourism experts say.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority said Wednesday it is projecting 343,000 people will visit Southern Nevada in the upcoming weekend, a 1.8 percent increase over last year.

The LVCVA’s Research Center said it expects $432.5 million in direct visitor spending, an 11 percent increase from 2023, and a total economic impact of $715.8 million, which includes indirect spending by suppliers and vendors, a 4 percent increase over last year.

The LVCVA’s estimates are based on similar or slightly lower occupancy rates from last year of just over 93 percent, but with a higher inventory of hotel rooms, at 154,696.