(Jeremy Aguero, left, principal of Applied Analysis, spoke about tourism economics at the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority board meeting.)
Las Vegas tourism chief Steve Hill recognizes the effect global trade tariffs are having on consumer confidence, having already heard the uproar and witnessed the manifestation on international visitors.
Canada, threatened with 50 percent tariffs on some exports, is the top international market for Las Vegas, with about half of Canadian visitors flying nonstop to Las Vegas as a destination.
Countless others arrive by automobile and “broken trips,” flying to Las Vegas from Los Angeles, San Francisco and Phoenix, says Hill, president and chief executive officer of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
The numbers have been flat in January and February.
“We do expect this is the start of a decline in international visitors,” Hill concedes at the April 8 meeting of the LVCVA board of directors. “The conversation around tariffs has alienated some of our potential visitors. We’re seeing bookings drop, not by 75 percent, but we have seen a decline.”
Consequently, he’s projecting a 5 percent drop in room tax revenue for fiscal 2026, which extrapolates to a lower budget for his powerhouse tourism marketing agency. Staff will present the budget to the board in May. Last year, it was about $360 million.
It’s hard to calculate the cost increase coming from the tariffs, says Jeremy Aguero, principal of Applied Analysis research firm, who presented a report on the economic impact of Southern Nevada tourism.
“We know consumers have more to spend. Incomes have risen and consumer spending has trickled down. It’s something that we all should keep our eyes on,” he says.
The region is more reliant on tourism than anywhere in the United States “by a long shot,” Aguero notes.
The 41.7 million visitors who came to Las Vegas in 2024 spent $55.1 billion, the most ever, accounting for roughly one-third of our gross domestic product, the research analyst reports. Visitor spending has a direct impact on casinos, hotels and restaurants; an indirect impact on vendors and suppliers; and an induced impact from workers spending their wages in the community.
Board member Jan Jones Blackhurst, former Las Vegas mayor now working for Caesars Entertainment, points to higher average daily room rates and higher prices at restaurants and shows for driving consumer spending in Las Vegas. It’s hard to find dinner for four under $200 on the Strip, she adds.
The convention industry, with 6 million in attendance, is also critical to the economy. The convention and meeting segment directly supports 46,200 jobs, $2.7 billion in wages and $10.1 billion in total output.
Conventioneers spend an average of $1,681 on their trip to Las Vegas, compared with $1,262 for leisure visitors.
Aguero, known as a “happy talker” for his mellifluous assessments of Las Vegas’s economy, warns we must monitor the tariff situation and gather more information without overreacting.
“The universe of what we don’t know is much greater than the universe of what we do know,” he expounds.
