The numbers in the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) report for May were a mixed bag of good news/bad news for Mesquite tourism industry.

The best news appeared in the gross gaming revenues where Mesquite casinos led all of Clark County with a percentage gain of 10.8 percent over May 2016. The gross take came in at $10.709 million, up from $9.667 million last year.

That compares to a 3.5 percent increase in all of Clark County for the month. Gaming revenues on the Las Vegas Strip increased 3.0 percent with the Boulder Strip showing a similar 3.1 percent increase. Gaming revenues in downtown Las Vegas increased 9.5 percent and Laughlin came in with a 9.3 percent increase.

Mesquite also led all reporting venues in the LVCVA report with a 2.4 percent increase in overall visitor volumes. May 2017 had 115,951 people coming to Mesquite compared to 113,231 people a year ago.

That compares to Las Vegas visitor volumes which showed a 0.3 percent increase and Laughlin’s 1.0 percent increase.

Total occupancy rates in Mesquite’s hotels and motels declined 1.0 percent to 76.7 percent from May 2016. However, the total room nights occupied jumped 9.8 percent to 45,295 with the average daily room rate rising a slight 0.9 percent to $57.58.

Revenue per available room (RevPAR), an important indicator in the hotel industry, fell a miniscule 0.4 percent to $44.16. In May 2016 RevPAR was $44.35 for Mesquite hotels.

Average daily auto traffic on I-15 at the Nevada Arizona border increased 4.8 percent to 27,799 vehicles every day.

Total occupancy rates in Laughlin’s hotels and motels were 1.8 percent better than a year ago at 64.6 percent.

The average daily room rate in Laughlin increased 1.2 percent to $49.01 with RevPAR also increasing 4.1 percent to $31.66 over last year’s numbers. Total room nights occupied increased 1.8 percent in Laughlin to 198,658.

Airplane passengers in Laughlin jumped 23.1 percent to 21,420 in May while average daily auto traffic on Highway 163 into the river town rose 1.2 percent to 4,761 vehicles each day.

Even though traffic counts on I-15 at the Nevada California border dropped 1.0 percent, the counts on all major highways into Las Vegas increased overall by 2.8 percent at 119,411 vehicles daily.

The LVCVA always cautions that auto traffic counts are a blend of both commercial and resident traffic in addition to visitors.