ML - Vegas Magazine

2013 - Issue 2 - Spring

Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.

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The view from a Panorama Towers apartment snapped up by an Australian couple. Haute Property news, stars, and trends in real estate help from abroad Las Vegas���s international travel is feeding our real estate market with a rise in foreign investors.��� By Buck Wargo photography by bryan hainer photograph by tk; illustration by tk C ome to Las Vegas for a convention or vacation and leave owning part of the Strip or another piece of the city���s real estate. That���s the pitch that our realtors at the highest level are giving rich foreign investors, who are visiting Vegas at a soaring rate. For reasons as varied as strong foreign currencies and our recently diversified entertainment options luring a new clientele, the Las Vegas metro area saw a staggering 4.6 million international travelers in 2011. That���s a 92.4 percent increase since 2003, enough to put us in the number-one spot among major American metro areas for gains in international travel, according to the Brookings Institution���s Metropolitan Policy Program. ���It���s no longer enough to rely on domestic visitors,��� says Adie Tomer, a senior research associate with Brookings. ���But if you can tap into the international market, from Shanghai to S��o Paulo to London, you can bring more economic growth back to Las Vegas.��� International visitors are important to the market because they tend to stay longer and spend more money than American visitors. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has a goal to increase the percentage of foreigners visiting the city from the current 16 percent to 30 percent by 2020, and last summer McCarran opened a new $2.4 billion terminal, mostly for international flights. The ability to attract travelers from around the world gives Las Vegas financial security, especially when the domestic economy is feeling less secure. This means more people to fill hotels, showrooms, and casinos����� nd to boost the real estate market. ���That���s a lot more people who a can buy real estate as an investment or move here,��� says Tomer, who recently led a research project on international air travel to and from America���s largest metro areas. ���These visitors are from higher-income families.��� In 2011, 42 percent of international travelers to and from Las Vegas continued on page 120 ��� vegasmagazine.com��� 119

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