Las Vegas tourists paid the highest hotel rates in history last month, and the number of visitors nearly matched pre-pandemic 2019 levels, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported Tuesday.

An estimated 3.6 million people visited Southern Nevada in October, 7.3 percent ahead of last year and just 0.8 percent off October 2019.

Visitors paid an average daily room rate of $209.89, breaking a record that stood for only one month. In September, the LVCVA reported average room rates of $187.18 a night.

The LVCVA reported visitors paid an average of $225.69 a night on the Strip and $117.51 in downtown Las Vegas. The average rate was 20.8 percent more than a year ago and 55.1 percent more than in October 2019.