October has traditionally been one of the best months in Mesquite for visitor volumes. Temperatures are still warm, the golf courses are coming back to life after overseed closures, and people are still traveling.
The tradition seems to be falling away based on the last few years of declining visitor counts in October.
According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the visitor volume dropped by 2.5 percent this year compared to last year. This year 117,800 people came to Mesquite versus 120,800 in October 2018.
In October 2018 visitor counts fell 3.1 percent compared to October 2017, from 124,700 to 120,800. The same annual decline held from October 2016 when 131,023 people visited Mesquite causing a 4.8 percent drop.
With the decline in visitor counts came declines in total occupancy at all hotels that dropped a miniscule 0.3 percent to 82.3 percent. Total room nights occupied also decreased 2.6 percent to 47,500.
The average daily room rate (ADR) increased 3.7 percent to $67.18 while the revenue per available room (RevPAR) was up 3.3 percent to $55.29.
Gross gaming revenues at Mesquite’s casinos were up 7.3 percent to $12.163 million from last year’s $11.339 million.
Gaming revenues in Laughlin decreased 5.5 percent in a year-to-year comparison for October. Gaming revenues in downtown Las Vegas increased 7.2 percent while the Boulder Strip saw a slight increase of 0.2 percent. Gaming revenues on the Las Vegas Strip dropped 9.3 percent. All of Clark County reported a 5.1 percent decrease in gross gaming revenues for the month.
Average daily auto traffic on the I-15 Nevada Arizona border decreased 0.6 percent to 29,370 vehicles every day rolling through Mesquite.
Mesquite’s sister city on the river, Laughlin, saw its visitor volume decrease 5.4 percent. With that, total occupancy fell 3.5 percent to 58.8 percent. The ADR rate decreased 2.7 percent to $43.94 and RevPAR decreased 8.2 percent to $25.84. Total room nights occupied dropped 6.9 percent.
Airplane passengers in Laughlin decreased 10.1 percent while the average daily auto traffic on Highway 163 from Arizona fell 1.3 percent to 4,667 vehicles. The average daily auto traffic on all major highways leading into Las Vegas increased a slight 0.2 percent while the daily traffic counts on I-15 at the Nevada California border dropped by 3.7 percent to 42,013.
