Mesquite’s tourism numbers finished out the 2017 calendar year in strong fashion according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA).

The total number of visitors for the year was up 22,400 from 2016 to a total of 1,368,500 people. That continues the strengthening trend in visitors and is the highest since 2008 when the great recession began.

All of the categories in the Mesquite portion of the LVCVA report followed the positive growth. (Note: room inventory fell by an inconspicuous 10 rooms.)

For the year, total occupancy was up 0.6 percent to 76.9 percent. Total room nights occupied followed that by increasing 9.1 percent to 534,600 room nights.

Average daily room rate (ADR) increased 1.2 percent to $58.62 while revenue per available room (RevPAR) was up 1.7 percent to $45.09 for the calendar year.

Gross gaming revenues rose 5.8 percent in 2017, coming in at $124.536 million. Mesquite’s gaming revenues in 2016 were $117.750 million.

Average daily auto traffic on I-15 at the Nevada Arizona border increased for the year by 4.9 percent hitting 27,461 vehicles a day.

December’s visitor volume count alone was 90,100, up 1.7 percent from a year ago. That was only the second month of 2017 that the visitor count was below the 100,000 benchmark.

Total occupancy for the month increased 5.3 percent to 59.9 percent and total room nights occupied rose 9.1 percent to 35,200.

ADR in December increased 1.5 percent with RevPAR jumping 11.4 percent to $33.12.

Gaming revenues in December jumped 9.8 percent coming in at $10.996 million.

Auto traffic at the border in Mesquite rose 6.8 percent in December to 25,316 vehicles.

Laughlin reported a 5.1 percent increase in its December visitor volumes at 130,000 and a 1.6 percent increase for the year with 1.941 million visitors.

Total occupancy for the river city hotels was up 3.5 percent in December and 2.2 percent for the year. ADR increased 10.5 percent in December and a slight 0.7 percent for 2017. RevPAR jumped 18.8 percent in December to $23.45 and 4.3 percent for the year. Total room nights occupied were up 7.0 percent in December and up 2.6 percent for the year.

Laughlin’s gross gaming revenues for the year increased 4.1 percent to $492.814 million.

Airplane passenger volumes increased a whopping 112.3 percent in December from 5,562 to 11,806. Total airplane passengers increased 14.3 percent for the calendar year to 240,686.

Auto traffic on Highway 163 into Laughlin increased 3.4 percent in December and 2.7 percent for the year.

The LVCVA report showed gaming revenues in all of Clark County increasing 2.7 percent for calendar year 2017. The Las Vegas trip gaming intake rose 1.3 percent for the year and the Boulder strip increased 3.2 percent. Downtown Las Vegas gaming revenues showed the largest percentage increase for the year at 11.8 percent.

Visitor volumes in Las Vegas felled 1.7 percent for the year to 42.208 million people. The LVCVA attributed the drop to “the combined effects of temporary room inventory reductions plus the near-term impact of the Oct. 1 tragedy in the last quarter of the year.”