It was on December 14, 2021 that Las Vegas International Airport was renamed from McCarran to Harry Reid.
This seems to have worked out well for the airport as it has just set a new record. With approximately 5.2 million arrivals and departures during the month of October 2022, it recorded the highest number of passengers in its history, beating the 4.9 million of last July.
2022 could also be a record year
Clark County Aviation Department officials were expecting good results for this fall season. Indeed, the airlines had already announced earlier this year that they were increasing capacity with additional routes and larger planes serving Las Vegas.
Well, they weren’t wrong as October saw a new record for passenger numbers. There were about 5.2 million arriving and departing passengers. This represents an increase of 23.7% compared to the same period in 2021.
So for the first 10 months of the year, 43.7 million travelers have flown into Harry Reid International Airport, an increase of 37.3% over last year. We can therefore expect the 2017 record of 51.5 million to be broken in the end.
As a result, 2022 has seen significant growth. In fact, the 5 best months of the airport have squarely been recorded this year and are from the smallest to the largest: August (4.6 million), June (4.7 million), September (4.8 million), July (4.9 million) and October (5.2 million).
Further proof of Las Vegas’ tourist appeal
During this past month, more than 4.8 million passengers came from domestic carriers, an increase of 19.8%. International passengers numbered just over 286,000, an increase of 178.9%.
This is further proof that the city of Las Vegas is becoming one of the most attractive tourist destinations internationally. Nevertheless, it should be noted that these record numbers are also the result of an increase in travel by local residents.
In early 2023, Harry Reid International Airport will begin a project that will take several months to complete to increase the number of parking spaces.
Another record in October: hotel room rates in Las Vegas
All of these rising numbers recently released by Clark County Aviation Department officials are great news for Las Vegas Valley casinos. This is especially true for room rates. October was also the month of record-breaking overnight stays at area hotels.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority recently announced that the average room rate rose 20% between September and October to $209.89. This represents a 55% increase from October 2019.
