Photo from source, MSNBC
Aww, shoot. I was kinda hoping nobody would notice. Of course, it's possible that this will pass. After September 11, we had a downturn too, but it was rather short-lived. Las Vegas is pretty resilient, and almost always defies the odds. But I suppose it is impossible to gauge how much The Decider's incompetence has damaged our city, state and country, or for how long.
Previous Presidents have been somewhat unfairly blamed for anything and everything that was wrong with the country when they left office. In the case of George W. Bush, I'm pretty sure it would be fair.
[Excerpt]
Economic losing streak hits Vegas
On the third weekend of every April, Emily Ann Frankston and her family—spread out over five states—meet up in Las Vegas for their annual family vacation. This year was different. The only ones to show up were Frankston, her husband and her brother-in-law, and they stayed just two nights instead of the traditional three. "My two sisters back east said airfares were too high, my mother-in-law lost her job in January, and some of the others said they were busy, but we think they didn't want to spend the money," says Frankston, 37, who drove in from the Phoenix area. "We've done this for the past nine years. Even after 9/11 we all came. But this year's it's just us. This recession is really hurting everyone. . ."
Read more at: MSNBC
All of these news stories about a Vegas Recession are pretty flawed.
ReplyDeleteRoom rates have fluctuated heavily here since the dawn of tourism. It is only the past three years they spiked high and stayed for some time. This dip wouldn't even be noted 10 years ago.
Property values have nothing to do with tourism. Speculators bought too many new properties.
Casino stocks are down because everyone is believing the "Vegas Recession" stories. Once again, gaming stock is very little indication of the health of Las Vegas tourism.
Hotel occupancy is 95%. Any other city would love to have that. Orlando has just over 60%.
I wrote an extended blog post about this entire topic at
Las Vegas Is Not In A Recession... Puhleeeze
I go into seven major points about why this widely reported "Las Vegas Recession" has not been correctly viewed.
Ted Newkirk
Managing Editor
Access Vegas