According to Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority data, the first four months of this year showed a decrease in the overall number of visitors. Mark Wayman, a recruiter for executives in the gaming and casino industries, told Business Insider in May that Las Vegas bookings through the summer are “the worst I’ve ever seen.”
Air traffic into Harry Reid International Airport is also trending downward, as domestic travel for the first half of 2025 was down 4% compared to last year.
Alternate link: https://archive.ph/z9oWV
Yeah that happens when you take away people’s financial stability and/or money in general. No one plans to spend it they plan to save it.
Don’t forget the collapse of international tourism as well. It’s a double whammy.
But also the freedom of online gambling probably contributed more. I could spend $1k on hotels, food, and travel just got get to vegas to blow away $500. Or I can buy a few pizzas, gather friends to my home, go out to dinner with them, sleep in my own bed, and spin the lottery machine arm on my phone and save most of my money instead?
I don’t think the gambling was the draw for the majority of tourists. It was a factor but they went for the entirety of activities according to the last data I saw on it. It was a destination and not just a gambling venue.
I don’t do online gambling, so maybe I am missing an important detail here, but there’s no recent development that would explain why online gambling would have an effect now, and not a year ago, or even 15 years ago.
Over the past 7-ish years more and more states have legalized online sports gambling. There was a longstanding law that essentially forbade it in most states. It was struck down at the start of this rush.
It could be part of a gradual decline as a result of that
Lol trump killed the US tourism
add it to the list of moronic shit he’s done that’s bankrupting the USA
“But the libruls got SO owned!” - random Magat while standing in the bread lines
13.2% fewer international travelers visited Las Vegas in June compared to last year.
I’m surprised it only declined that much…
I think a partial explanation can be that for most international tourists a visit to the USA is a major trip that gets planned well in advance. Easily half or even a full year ahead. Things only really got bad in the last few months, so we might still see many holidays that were planned before the madness fully set in. If that is the case I’d expect a continued decline in the future, where people choose another destination when deciding their next itinerary.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Vegas wasn’t a huge international destination except for the super rich. It’s a really long way to go to gamble, and there’s a good or better attractions in other US cities.
So many states have legalized gambling and Indian casinos exist that Vegas makes zero sense anymore, unless women lose more rights and have to get divorced there or whatever.
Hmm, I can’t think of anything in the US that may be affecting tourism right now. Anyone else drawing a blank?
Well it can’t be hostility to foreigners or the cost of living skyrocketing to the stratosphere, because there’s no way that could ever happen. Must be the Democrat’s fault. Thanks Obama.
Vegas fucking sucks though, honestly.
Yeah, I went once and would not revisit. I think it may be a personal preference. I don’t drink, buy timeshares, hire prostitutes or gamble, I’m not the target audience. Also a lot of grungy homeless people on the strip. Food was good though.
I didn’t even find great food but that could’ve easily been the places we went. It’s just all expensive for no reason. Even bud light which is the exact same no matter where you are in the world was insane. For that!
That and the urban planning around the strip is awful. You’re herded around like cattle and fenced in.
I honestly wouldn’t return if you paid me. Had a couple good experiences with a show and such but absolutely not worth whatever they charge, etc. And with a lot of states legalizing gambling I’m wondering what the real draw is other than missing the fake gaudy hotels and such.
We were in Las Vegas a couple of months ago and the prices were beyond belief. Two pastries and a bottle of water at the Bellagio were $27. Ferris wheel tickets were $30 each. A movie at the Sphere was $95. The food, even at highly rated restaurants wasn’t all that good while still being very expensive. We’re happy to spend more while on vacation, but there is no way this place is worth anywhere near what they are charging.
Las Vegas is now a prime example of enshittification. The Bellagio’s fountain show has been shortened to 6 minutes and is a shadow of the previously impressive show. They’ve removed the lighting from their famous Chihuli glass ceiling. The city and the hotels have removed all public seating so you can’t just wander around without spending hours on your feet or visiting one of those expensive, mediocre restaurants. (The Venetian was a welcome exception to this.)
Las Vegas used to be a fun place to do a bit of gambling while enjoying lots of other activities without being fleeced. Not anymore.
At some point they broke the compact. You come, you get a $30-per-night hotel and a $8 steak dinner because the rest of the money is going into the machines/tables. That’s why so many of the attractions used to be the gawkable buildings and public shows-- you could still enjoy them if you had blown your budget.
I guess they pivoted away, but to what? There are whales who want a $5000-per-night suite but you can’t fill an entire 30-story building with them (especially when there are 50 such buildings within walking distance all chasing them)
I went in May and even cheap meals were over $10, the low-mid priced Fremont Street hotel was around a hundred bucks a night, and the one show I went to was 1/3 full probably because it was $75 for an act that’s been running for decades. I budgeted $1000 to gamble but ended up only dropping 350 because it felt like it wasn’t much I couldn’t see in the local Native-reservation casino.
I will say nothing but good things for the Pinball Hall of Fame though.
It became corporate thats what happened. About 15 years ago I took a cab in Vegas. My driver was a long since retired back up singer. He told me stories of working with all sorts of Vegas acts, Sinatra and so on.
He then got a bit wistful about the old times. He said he missed old Vegas. He missed the mob. He said when the mob ran Vegas you knew where you stood and the mob knew to simply take a little off the top year after year.
Then he said the corporations moved in. And everyyear they squeeze. Take more and more, it never stops. They are the ones who invited families in and squeezed some more. Raised the prices on everything, made the odds worse if the could on slots, built giant building and increased the prices for rent and nickle and dimed every single service they could.
And year after year it was never enough, they just kept squeezing and increasing prices.
That didn’t happen in 4 months though. I wonder what changed, hmmmm.
That didn’t happen in 4 months though.
I think a tipping point has been reached.
Really? There couldn’t be any other reasons?
Why don’t you enlighten us with your insight?
According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, new international arrivals data for March 2025 reveal a sharp and widespread drop in inbound travel from many of the country’s key source markets:
- UK arrivals, one of the U.S.’s most important source markets, down nearly 15% year over year
- Germany, another significant source market, plunged more than 28%
- South Korea – down almost 15%
- Other key markets, such as Spain, Colombia, Ireland, Ecuador, and the Dominican Republic, saw double-digit drops between 24% and 33%
As widely expected, the Canadian market is drying up, with early summer bookings down over 20% compared to last year. This is more than a dip. It’s a wake-up call.
https://wttc.org/news/us-economy-set-to-lose-12-5bn-in-international-traveler-spend-this-year
International tourism
Not surprised given how Vegas has evolved in the last 10-15 years. Most of the casinos are run by MGM or Caesars so there is zero incentive to compete any more. It’s all expensive - the rooms, the meals, the shows. They slap bullshit like “resort fees” on everything. The comps / drinks are minimal. The table limits are ridiculous. Most of the public attractions are shut down or dialed back. The public transport is abysmal. Oh and Donald Trump has basically told the world that tourists aren’t welcome any more. I’m surprised anybody bothers going there any more quite frankly.
It’s gambling in airconditioned shitty hotels, a miracle anyone wants to go in the first place.
Right now they’re trying to bulldoze Coney Island, aka “The People’s Playground” and a historic icon, to replace it with a shitty casino. No one wants it, but the money must flow. The parent corp is paying off people and using shitty tactics to try to fake support for it, but they’ve also pissed off a massive community of artists and activists who have been fighting tooth and nail against it.
We already lost the streets. The city gave them to a greedy corporation that has bought and ruined multiple historic buildings over the last two decades. Eric Adams has a hand in all of this.
Below is their plan. See the little building circled in red? That’s home to a museum, a theater, a cultural pillar and events organizer, and the last permanently housed circus sideshow in quite possibly the world. It’s got historic protected status. They’re trying to engulf us.
If you’ve read this far, please spread the word. This is my performance home. If you live near NY, sign the petition
They’re gonna build over it? That’s whack. Is that allowed?
Yeah, I have always been puzzled by the fact that so many people seem to actively desire to spend their time (and not least money) in that place.
The US government threatened to annex Canada, violently or by economic blackmail. Fuck them. I would like to cordially invite Trump to shit out his own liver.
If Vegas is a casualty, then let it die.
Call me crazy but we shouldn’t be building cities in the middle of the desert anyway.
That too
Testament to humanities hubris
Most Canadians are actively boycotting the US because of the felon president who keeps opening his yap about the 51st state.
Not only that but you could wind up in a concentration camp as several people already have from Canada and the EU.
I went to Vegas (from Canada) in November for a company convention sort of thing right after Trump got in and felt off about it then but like actual fuck I’d go now. My company is actually struggling to find somewhere to go next year since, while they’re a US based remote-first company, a LOT of their employees are outside of the United States.
Edit: It’s funny, I’ve noticed they’ve really seemed to prioritise hiring Canadian developers in the last few years. I’ve always wondered if it’s because they feel they can pay us less
Edit: It’s funny, I’ve noticed they’ve really seemed to prioritise hiring Canadian developers in the last few years. I’ve always wondered if it’s because they feel they can pay us less
I have no idea why, but Canadian IT professionals earn a fraction of their US counterparts. I can tell you its not a skill gap either. I’ve worked with many amazingly brilliant Canadian IT professionals. Its a great untapped market for global talent. Prior to trump, I saw it as a huge asset to American companies to have access to such a highly skilled work force, working in our same time zones, speaking the same language, but costing half of an American salary (or less!). However, trump killed that. I very much miss my Canadian brothers and sisters in IT.
For reference, I moved from the US to Canada but kept the same job role with the same company. My pay took almost a 50% cut (factoring in the conversion rate).
This is part of what I don’t understand. Cost of living in most major cities (Vancouver, the GTA, and to some extent Montréal) generally isn’t 50% less expensive than living in the USA. Yes healthcare is covered, but housing and food prices are quite high.
I don’t understand why IT wages are so suppressed there.
No doubt. We are cheaper for sure.
Canadians visits are down by 50+ points.
Not sure why it’s not 95+.50 is insane already, these are cancelled non-refunded holidays.
That’s the sort of decisions being made: do I cancel and lose this money. I don’t many could swallow the loss and still went.
My guess is it’s a trip most book a year out (ie after returning from their last one) so the decline will be alot more noticeable around October
Baby boomers
Probably because business is still need people to go.
Just went to Vegas for the first time in a decade, it’s painful how expensive it’s gotten. A single G&T cost 20 bucks.
Hope Miriam Adelson is happy, she got what she paid for.
Can you elaborate? I’m out of the loop.
Adelsons own a ton of stuff in Vegas and they donate heavily to Republicans. The drop in traffic is definitely going to affect her business.
Widow of Vegas casino owner and MAGA financier Sheldon Adelson
Vegas is an entirely man made vacation destination, there is no natural reason to visit. It used to be that only Nevada and New Jersey had gambling but now you find gambling towns everywhere.
It’s an okay stop on the way to the Grand Canyon if you’re coming from California. If I was going to see something man-made, tho, I’d rather go to the Hoover Dam.
That was my favorite part of the area, the rest was just like, Disneyworld with smoking and tits.
And I am pretty sure Disneyworld has both of those now, too, anyway.
