LAS VEGAS (KLAS)– As millions of Americans continue to travel through the holiday weekend, many who didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving are coming to Las Vegas for a fun, less crowded experience.
“This is a fun place,” Naz Hajsham, who traveled to Las Vegas from Canada Friday said. “It has everything we want to do.”
Though many have hit the road or taken to the skies to visit family, others are using the time to have some fun.
“We forgot it was Thanksgiving,” Hajsham told 8 News Now. “And then we said oh my God this is Black Friday!”
Hajsham and her sister touched down at Harry Reid International Airport Friday from Calgary, Alberta. Since they already celebrated Thanksgiving last month, she’s taking the opportunity to soak up everything Las Vegas has to offer.
“We actually googled,” she said. “To see how late the shops are open.”
AAA ranked Las Vegas as the third most popular destination for Thanksgiving weekend travel this year, behind Disneyland and Disneyworld.
Around 55 million Americans are scheduled to travel to and from their hometowns through Sunday, with about one million moving through Harry Reid International Airport.
A lot of those people, like Hajsham, came to Las Vegas from across the globe, not for this prominent American beginning to the season, but to kickstart their own yearly traditions with a vacation ahead of the holidays.
“I think the life,” Canadian visitor Lois Loewen concluded of Las Vegas. “It’s just exciting and kind of cuts down on our long winter.”