Las Vegas tourism troubles deepen as visitor count drops 11.3% in June
https://www.newsnationnow.com/business/las-vegas-tourism-troubles-deepen-june-2025/
Is Las Vegas in Trouble? - Newsweek
https://www.newsweek.com/las-vegas-economic-troubles-casino-gambling-2104219
Las Vegas's tipped workers say income fell by more than half
https://nypost.com/2025/07/28/business/las-vegass-tipped-workers-say-income-fell-by-more-than-half/
Las Vegas Faces Identity Crisis in 2025 as Tourism Declines Soar, Casino Reliance Weakens, and Global Travelers Turn Away - Travel And Tour World
https://www.travelandtourworld.com/news/article/las-vegas-faces-identity-crisis-in-2025-as-tourism-declines-soar-casino-reliance-weakens-and-global-travelers-turn-away/
I've always been surprised how many international visitors coming to our national park include Vegas in their trip. For Americans, those tend to be almost non-overlapping groups.
>> higher convention attendance (+10.7%) helped cover some of the dip
I think that can be a bad sign. Conventions are getting cheap rates and the rates are cheap because hotels are afraid they can't fill. The purpose of "group" business in the hotel industry is to lay in a base that allows you to push rate for leisure travel. If you think you can sell out on leisure travel, you don't need that base. If you think leisure travel will be weak, you offer great deals to groups so that the base is stronger, more expenses are covered, and you can gamble a bit by pushing leisure rates up.
So if you're looking at longer term trends (group business mostly books 9-24 months in advance), increasing group is not typically a great sign except in periods of irrational exuberance when groups are willing to pay rack rate. I don't think we've seen that since 2000.
Assuming I'm right about that theory, you would expect to see that show up in RevPAR and...
>> The biggest effect from that translates through RevPAR — revenue per available room — which shows a year-over-year decline of 13.5% on the Strip.
I think the articles hit a lot of the usual suspects...
- worried people cut back on discretionary spending - check
- internationals, especially Canadians, shunning the US - check (for the first time ever, we have had basically not internationals in our rental)
- inflation - check - prices here at the restaurants have gone up so much... we used to occasionally go for a treat. We don't bother anymore.
Not mentioned - legal at home hedonism:
- online gaming
- gaming-adjacent activities - Robin Hood and crytpo
- pot dispensaries
Aug 8 2025: NPR picks up, fleshes out the story
What Vegas' tourism decline suggests about the U.S. economy : NPR
https://www.npr.org/2025/08/08/nx-s1-5492413/las-vegas-trump-summer-travel-decline
Visitors dropped for a 6th straight month in Las Vegas as head of tourism insists Sin City isn't dead - CBS News
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/las-vegas-visitors-tourism-drop-sin-city/
Debbie: And the $250 visa fee looms
It's sort of like peak oil - we always thought Vegas would die because it ran out of water, not customers.
Utah national parks and their gateway towns are feeling a summer tourism slump | KUER
https://www.kuer.org/business-economy/2025-08-28/utah-national-parks-and-their-gateway-towns-are-feeling-a-summer-tourism-slump
Good article. Lots of stats.
International travel to the U.S. on downturn, may last beyond summer
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/sep/1/international-travel-us-downturn-may-last-beyond-summer/
>Utah national parks and their gateway towns are feeling a summer tourism slump
Sadly, Moab hotel rates are still higher than last year.