Through good times and bad, Las Vegas seems to always emerge a winner. Even during the pre-, post- and on again/off again recession we’ve experienced, big developments are still drawing crowds. Last year it was CityCenter; this year, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. The city’s resilience and ability
to always guarantee a good time are surely why it continually gets ranked atop U.S. vacation destinations. And that’s nothing new.
In 1977, the city was doing exceptionally well. As feminism was growing and the Civil Rights Movement was in full swing, the country was suffering as the oil crisis raged and unemployment was hitting all-time records. But in Vegas, visitor volume was increasing. Hotel occupancy levels exceeded the 90s, and airline arrivals were enjoying the 21.8 percent increase reported in since 1975. In 1977, the city reported a figure of about $500 million in tourism and convention delegates alone for the third quarter the year before. (Read the full article here.)
Thirty-three years later, we're coming out of another recession and Las Vegas is as bright as ever. Wynn Las Vegas and Tropicana Las Vegas recently opened renovated rooms, and the Renaissance Las Vegas just celebrated its fifth anniversary.
As we celebrate our 80th anniversary, we're taking a look at what was happening in the industry in the past and asking agents to share their thoughts on what has changed in the industry up until the present. So please share your thoughts by posting a comment below, writing us at our Facebook page, sending a tweet to our Twitter page or by engaging in a discussion in real time at AgentNation (the only social community online for all kinds of travel agents, which certainly wasn't around 80 years ago). We want to hear from you.
And while you're here, learn more about how we're celebrating eight decades of covering the travel industry for travel professionals.