leaving on a jet plane...wondering when you're coming back to vegas!

Not terribly shocking, really. From the Review-Journal:

McCarran passenger counts fall 1.3 percent in October
By HOWARD STUTZ

Passenger counts at McCarran International Airport fell 1.3 percent in October. More than 3.51 million passengers came through McCarran during the month, compared with more than 3.56 million passengers in the same month a year ago.

For the first 10 months of 2009, McCarran has seen passenger counts fall 9.4 percent over the period in 2008.

No real surprise that passenger counts are down this year. The real meat-and-potatoes comparison will be 2k10 numbers vs. 2k9 and even 2k8. That'll give the clearest indication if the economy is rebounding. We already know Strip development is going to remain halted. That's old news. Let's see if people are ready to occupy the rooms already waiting for them.

allegiant bucking the trend.

Perhaps all is not lost right now on the Vegas tourism industry. From the Las Vegas Review Journal:

Allegiant revenue jumps despite financial downturns
By Benjamin Spillman

Las Vegas-based Allegiant Travel Company managed to increase revenue more than 35 percent in the third quarter despite operating a leisure-based airline at a time when the hospitality and airline industries are suffering from dramatic financial downturns.

Allegiant reported today that it earned $116.9 million in the third quarter, up 35.4 percent from the same quarter in 2007. However, profits on the revenue fell 4.2 percentage points to 6.9 percent, in large part because fuel costs were higher.

During a conference call with analysts company officials were upbeat despite dire predictions for leisure travel. They said lower fuel prices will give the airline more flexibility in the future and discussed several possibilities for increasing revenue further, including the potential to charge passengers for carry-on luggage. Read more.

I've always liked their model of providing direct flights to destination cities for secondary markets. I've also flown them a couple times. The first time was not that great, but the second time was very good. I'd fly them again.