In 2010, my wife and I met in Las Vegas at The Little White Wedding Chapel parking lot. Fourteen years later, we returned for five days to renew our vows and enjoy all the things the city has to offer.
21.07.2024 - 11:43 / insider.com / Richard Branson / Jeff Bezos
Nevada could be the new frontier for space tourism.
At least, that's what real estate developer Rob Lauer envisions with his plans to build a spaceport near Las Vegas. Lauer, a former US Army military police officer, is the CEO of Las Vegas Spaceport.
"Ten years from now, tours will be coming here to the Las Vegas Spaceport and boarding a space plane for their journey," he said in a YouTube video for investors. "Perhaps to a hotel in space. Perhaps to the moon. Or even, perhaps, to Mars."
Las Vegas Spaceport would be intended for commercial and private space tourism.
The company's 240-acre development site is a 15-minute helicopter ride from the Las Vegas Strip, which centers the city's thriving tourism industry.
The city recently embraced Formula 1, which generated $1.5 billion for the local economy in 2023, according to The Las Vegas Review-Journal. A report from Billboard said the Sphere in Las Vegas earned $170 million in third-quarter revenue.
The FAA's website lists 20 spaceport and launch and reentry sites in the United States, including SpaceX's Boca Chica facility, but none in Nevada. The list includes FAA-licensed, non-FAA-licensed, and US federal sites.
Introducing a spaceport could entice more tourists to spend time in the area, which, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, saw 40 million visitors in 2023.
But the endeavor can be quite costly. The first seat on New Shephard, a spacecraft from Jeff Bezos' Blue Origins, auctioned for $28 million in 2021.
Space tourism is more popular than ever.
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SpaceX, Elon Musk's astronautics company, successfully launched its first all-tourist flight to orbit in 2021. Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic completed its first space tourism mission in 2023.
And Blue Origin launched six tourists to the edge of space in May. The aerospace company previously sent four commercial astronauts to space in 2021.
Although space tourism is gaining traction, especially with billionaires, it's still out of reach for the everyday traveler.
Las Vegas Spaceport wants to make traveling to the stars more accessible. The spaceport would offer civilian space flight acclimation training and a post-high school STEM academy where students can access flight simulators.
The company also plans to construct a hotel, passenger terminal, rooftop observation deck, and restaurant at the spaceport.
As smaller companies like Las Vegas Spaceport look to enter the industry, some travelers are already excited to take flight.
A 2023 Pew Research Center survey found that 35% of respondents would be interested in orbiting Earth in a spacecraft.
The survey also said 55% of respondents believed people would "routinely travel" as space tourists in the next 50
In 2010, my wife and I met in Las Vegas at The Little White Wedding Chapel parking lot. Fourteen years later, we returned for five days to renew our vows and enjoy all the things the city has to offer.
A late-summer or fall getaway is now possible without breaking the bank. Spirit Airlines recently discounted hundreds of flights to popular destinations such as Las Vegas, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, and more. The low-cost carrier advertised the fare sale on their «Popular Flight Deals» section of their homepage, where travelers can enter in their home airport to find the best deals for them. As part of the popular deals, Travel + Leisure spotted deep discounts for under $29 including Dallas (DFW) to Las Vegas (LAS) for $22 one-way in August, and Baltimore, MD (BWI) to Orlando, FL (MCO) for $21 in September 2024. Additional flight deals include:
Wynn Resorts has just closed a deal to buy another 70 acres of land on Ras Al Khaimah’s Marjan Island, giving the operator a total of 155 acres and ownership of a quarter of the entire island. Wynn is already developing a $3.9 billion resort in the emirate.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Charissa Enget, a content creator and cybersecurity architect who gained her graduate degree in Thailand. It has been edited for length and clarity.
IHG One Rewards is one of several hotel loyalty programs that allow members to earn airline miles on hotel stays — and now it's offering a way to earn even more. As first reported by Loyalty Lobby, IHG's latest promotion will earn you 1,000 bonus American Airlines AAdvantage miles on every two-night stay this fall, up to 15,000 miles total.
In London, it's out with the old and in with the new. The Mondrian Shoreditch, one of TPG's best new hotels of 2021, has officially been reflagged as Virgin Hotels London-Shoreditch.
It’s always a good time to start planning a vacation, and one airline is rolling out deals to help keep the cost down.Allegiant Airlines, a low cost carrier based in Las Vegas, recently published dozens of new «Last Minute Flight Deals,» starting as low as $33. Best of all, the deals extend to popular vacation destinations such as Asheville, Destin, Nashville, Orlando, Tampa, and more Travelers can find the deals on Allegiant’s website, and even filter the options based on their home airport and budget per flight. The website also has a helpful map that shows routes from a home airport. The flight deals are valid on travel throughout August 2024, and available as supplies last. Travel + Leisure spotted a variety of additional one-way deals including:
July was a whirlwind — and, well, the news was nonstop. Between politics, that wild global computer fiasco (you know, the one that hit airlines hard) and the Olympics starting, you might have missed some big news on the hotel front.
Low-cost carrier Avelo Airlines has released a slew of discounted fares just in time for an end-of-summer getaway.
Jul 29, 2024 • 6 min read
Analysts in Las Vegas were working this weekend after the UAE regulators published its gaming regulations on Sunday.
Discount airlines are rolling out the deals to welcome passengers back on planes.Spirit Airlines recently released a variety of one way flight deals for under $40, including to popular locations such as Atlanta, Detroit, Las Vegas, Orlando, and more. The discounted rates are available on Spirit's Popular Flight Deals page, where passengers can enter in their home airport and maximum budget to see which flights are available from their city. For example, if a passenger searched with Atlanta as their home airport, they would see options for one way flights to Fort Lauderdale for $39, or flights to Houston for $29. The tool can be helpful when travelers know they want to get away, but aren’t exactly sure where. Travel + Leisure spotted a variety of deals including: