Las Vegas sets tourist visitor record in May

Tourists stroll by a large-screen television during a basketball promotion at The LINQ in Las Vegas on March 20, 2015. (David Becker/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Las Vegas visitor totals in May increased almost 5 percent with special events making the month a record for tourist volume.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority said Friday almost 3.74 million tourists came to Las Vegas during the month, 4.8 percent more than a year ago. The previous single-month record was 3.688 million visitors in March 2014.

Citywide hotel occupancy in May reached 91.2 percent and the average daily room rate was $130 a night, up 2.1 percent.

For the first five months of the year, more than 17.4 million visitors have a come to Las Vegas, an increase of 1.3 percent over the 2014.

A pair of trade shows totaling 32,000 attendees rotated out of Las Vegas in May, which led to 4.6 percent decrease in convention attendance for the month.

Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3871. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.