In May, tourist traffic in Las Vegas was down year-on-year, with visitor volume down 6.5%, according to the Las Vegas Convention and the Visitors Bureau.
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Hotel Casino Operators in Las Vegas are about deals this summer.
Resorts World offers free self-packing until August 28th, plus up to 40% room rates and a daily resort credit of $75. Strat’s Summer Value Package includes room rates starting at $49 and meal credits of $25 daily. Other operators have lowered prices to help locals stay.
Discounts come when international and budget-conscious travelers are hesitant to book their next trip to the strip.
According to figures from the Las Vegas competition and the Visitors Bureau, Las Vegas saw a year-on-year decline in tourist traffic in May, with visitors down 6.5% to 3.5 million.
“We are pleased to announce that we are committed to providing a range of services and services to providing services that will help us to create a range of services,” said Steve Hill, president and CEO of LVCVA. “Operators here have the ability to turn a large number of dials based on demand. We, like in the rest of the US, have been down a little from the past few years.”
Why are you visiting Las Vegas?
A pullback of visits arises as consumers become more uneasy about the economy under President Donald Trump’s new trade policy. Experts warn that consumer prices will be raised.
The conference committee’s consumer confidence index fell 5.4 points in June, hovering near a low that was not seen since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the report, tariffs and higher prices were the best prices in the mind, and consumers were more pessimistic about job availability and business conditions throughout the rest of the year.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said consumer spending fell 0.1% in May, with Americans refraining from purchasing at hotels, restaurants and bars.
“When there’s so much uncertainty in the economy, people make decisions more slowly. They tend to wait,” said Stephen Miller, a professor of economics at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas.
Hill said uncertainty is manifesting in Las Vegas visit data.
“The majority of the country has to pay attention to their budgets and are worried about how they are doing economically or what their job status will be,” he said.
This is especially true when travelers no longer view Las Vegas as a value destination. While rising resort fees, parking fees and food and drink prices are common complaints with travelers online, Hill said these views tend to be more anecdote than the driving force behind recent visits.
Still, “When people start to become more budget-conscious, that kind of concern comes naturally to the forefront,” he said.
Andrew Page of Tampa, Florida, said he cut his trip to Las Vegas in recent years because he doesn’t think he’s getting the money worth it anymore. All the extra charges and price hikes make the city feel too expensive, he said.
“When I travel for pleasure, I choose places that have a good experience overall. You get a lot of value for your dollars. “Vegas doesn’t appear on the list. It used to be a place I love to go.”
Where are the tourists in Canada?
The decline in international visits also collided with Las Vegas tourist traffic.
The decline in tourism in Las Vegas is usually led by a domestic travel slip, which is lagging behind about 88% of total visits, but the city is particularly prone to international travelers from Canada.
Hill said visits from the country have fallen by about 15% so far this year.
Brian Faulkner, 46, from Calgary, Alberta, works in film and television production, but he and his wife usually visit Las Vegas four to eight times a year. In-person flights allow for easy squeezes on long weekends with easy trips, he said, and the couple enjoys the city for its food and casino comp.
However, the couple has been tired of the US president’s talk about making Canada a 51, deciding to refrain from coming back while Trump is in officest state.
Instead, Faulkner has moved his travel budget back to Canada and other destinations. He has just returned from a camping trip in northern Calgary and when he spoke to USA Today, his wife is scheduled to visit Scotland at the end of July.
“Many Canadians are more proud of Canada. We travel around our borders. My wife and I do more date nights locally to actually try to see our city through the eyes of tourists,” he said. “We are trying to do something patriotic for our country.”
The decline in Las Vegas is in line with national trends. According to the International Trade Bureau, total visits for the first four months of the year fell by about 1%, while visits from Canada fell by 14.5%.
Blair Yaworski, a warehouse manager based in Edmonton, Alberta, is not sure if he will be able to comfortably book another trip to the US.
Yaworsky, 53, travels frequently, especially Las Vegas. But like Faulkner, Yaworsky is refraining from further US trips due to the actions of the Trump administration.
Talks and Canada to 51st The nation was upset, but Yaworsky, a legacy of the Ukrainians, said the public nausea of the regime with Ukrainian President Voldimia Zelenki was his last straw.
Yaworsky said he had already cancelled his trip to Montana with his nephew. His last trip to this country was in May, with a four night stay and a farewell to Las Vegas. Yaworsky said he competed in his favourite restaurant, attended the punk rock bowling music festival and gambled a bit.
“I love the escapism that Las Vegas offers. It’s frankly going to smoke that doesn’t get off. It’s a big part of our lives,” he said. “I had to make a settlement that I might have traveled there last time.”
Optimism in 2026
Looking forward to it, Hill is sure that Las Vegas visits will bounce back.
Hill said the lineup of events, conferences and exhibitions scheduled for this fall should see traffic increase. For example, according to LVCVA, the SEMA show in November, the Professional Equipment Market Association’s automotive exhibition is expected to introduce approximately 160,000 visitors.
Next year, Conexpo-Con/AGG, a construction fair held every three years, is expected to attract around 140,000 visitors. Additionally, the Sweets and Snacks Expo, held in Las Vegas every three years, will return in May with an estimated 16,000 attendees.
“There’s optimism in the fall and beyond,” Hill said. “2026 is arguably the best trade show and group business meeting prospects I’ve ever had.”
