Expected record 267,000 tourists for Memorial Day weekend

The Republican State Convention and Memorial Day Weekend will combine to bring nearly 10,000 people to Carson City.

Candy Duncan, executive director of the Carson Convention and Visitor's Bureau, said Carson's hotels are nearly filled.

"We are pretty close to sold out, thanks to the Republican convention," she said.

Tourism officials say Las Vegas will be playing to a full house this weekend.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority says 267,000 tourists will jam the city over the three-day weekend, making it the busiest holiday ever. By comparison, New Year's Eve drew 240,000 visitors.

The 267,000 visitors would be an increase of 7.7 percent over the 1999 count, said Richelle Thomson, spokeswoman for the visitors authority.

The hotels are expected to match last year's occupancy rate of 94.5 percent but more visitors will be in town because of the increased number of hotel rooms available.

Jason Ader, a casino analyst for Bear Stearns & Co., said advance bookings for Las Vegas are high and room rates are running 10 percent to 15 percent above last year.

''All in all, we're optimistic this is going to be a strong weekend and a great way to kick off the summer despite the heat,'' Ader said.

The city has been experiencing triple-digit temperatures that Las Vegas residents and visitors don't usually encounter until June.

The addition of new megaresorts such as the Paris-Las Vegas hotel-casino are also adding to the influx of visitors and those new resorts are helping in the marketing of the city.

''There are a lot more people marketing Las Vegas,'' said Harrah's Las Vegas Vice President of Hotel Operations John Koster.

Koster said last year Harrah's was about 80 percent full on the Friday night of Memorial Day weekend and was barely full Saturday and Sunday.

This year, he said, the hotel expects to sell out all three days.

Alan Feldman, spokesman for Mirage Resorts, said the increase in visitors can be attributed to the city's expanded national and international appeal with new restaurants, shopping and shows.