Vegas Now Revived After Sept. 11 Attacks Cripple Tourism Industry

As reported by the Reno Gazette-Journal: "The planes that crashed into the World Trade Center towers five years ago made a terrible sound. In Las Vegas, there was a deafening silence as the airport that supports the gambling mecca's tourist-based economy came to a halt.

"When planes slowly started taking off a few days later, lines of anxious travelers snaked outside the terminals. After the tourists left, many didn't return right away.

"About 400,000 fewer visitors came to Las Vegas in September 2001 than the year before, a 14 percent drop. Nearly 250 groups canceled meetings or conventions. Due to fewer visitors and sluggish air travel, several casino companies postponed multimillion-dollar expansion projects. From September to October, the industry laid off some 8,900 employees, or five percent of its staff, according to state statistics.

"The event was a painful reminder of how sensitive the nation's casino capital is to capricious disasters or economic downturns.

"...In an attempt to get people to return, the tourism authority adapted quickly to the outpouring of patriotism nationwide.

"...Tourism rebounded over the next months, first with drive-in traffic and then by plane. In January 2003, for the first time since the tragedy, total airport traffic of 2.8 million passengers exceeded prior-year figures. The airport is now the nation's fifth busiest, posting a record 44.3 million people last year. There are 96 gates instead of 83 in 2001; 565 daily flights instead of 440; and nearly triple the number of screening lanes at 32 to vet passengers for potentially dangerous items..."

2006-09-11