Travel Nevada is promoting Halloween experiences across the state, from haunted mining towns and themed train rides to year-round horror attractions in Las Vegas. The program gives advisors themed product to sell to Australian travellers visiting the US in October.
The campaign covers Virginia City, Las Vegas, Tonopah, Carson City, Lake Tahoe and smaller towns across Nevada. It also highlights Nevada Day on 31 October, which marks the state’s admission to the union in 1864.
Virginia City runs Hauntober program
Virginia City, which promotes itself as one of Nevada’s most haunted towns, holds Hauntober throughout October. Experiences include paranormal tours and cemetery storytelling, a haunted saloon crawl, the Bats in the Belfry guided ghost tour, visits to the Mackay Mansion, the Virginia & Truckee Railroad’s Haunted Halloween Graveyard Train and in Southern Nevada, the Boulder City Halloween Express offers a family-friendly themed train ride.
Las Vegas offers year-round horror attractions
At AREA15 in Las Vegas, Universal Horror Unleashed runs four haunted houses year-round, themed on Universal Monsters, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Exorcist: Believer and an original scarecrow concept.
Las Vegas is also home to the Hotel Fear and Asylum haunted attractions.
Because Universal Horror Unleashed operates all year, advisors can include it in Las Vegas itineraries outside the Halloween period.
Themed stays and regional events
Accommodation options for themed stays include the Clown Motel in Tonopah, which has 31 rooms decorated with clown art and is next to the Old Tonopah Cemetery and the Mizpah Hotel in Tonopah, known for its Lady in Red ghost story
Regional events include the Dark Prison Haunted House at the former Nevada State Prison in Carson City, the Main Street Gardnerville Annual Coffin Races and Fall Festival, Spooky Harbor movie nights at Sand Harbor State Park on Lake Tahoe and Corn Creepers at Andelin Family Farm in Sparks, an outdoor cornfield maze of about 800 metres.
The Nevada Day Parade and Celebration in Carson City includes a parade, hot air balloons, military flyovers and live music. Travel Nevada also runs a Nevada Specialist program for advisors. It offers training, sales presentations and marketing materials.
