Las Vegas visitation fell 12% in July in what’s likely to continue to fuel a national narrative of what’s wrong with Las Vegas.
The latest numbers released Friday morning by the Las Vegas Visitors and Convention Authority come as LVCVA CEO Steve Hill is scheduled to hold a press conference Friday afternoon to address the topic. Hill, who cited people’s financial conditions and dismissed suggestions that tourism was down because the city was overpriced, previously told CDC Gaming that the tourism agency would be unveiling a campaign to boost visitation.
“We’re going through a lull and the summer hasn’t been great,” Hill recently told CDC Gaming. “But that’s not an indication of the future. There’s still no place in the world like Las Vegas. The naysayers will chatter, but they’ll be shown to be wrong. The future is exceptionally bright.”
The numbers for July show Las Vegas had 3.1 million visitors, down more than 400,000 from 3.5 million in July 2024. For the year, Las Vegas’s 22.6 million visitors are down from 24.6 million through July 2024, a decline of 8%.
“Slower tourism trends in recent months continued in July as the destination saw a 12% year-over-year decline in visitation, hosting approximately 3.1 million visitors,” the LVCVA said in its numbers release. “The convention segment saw a year-over-year increase of 10.7% for the month, reflecting in part a scheduling nuance of the World Market Center’s summer show (38,000 attendees), which appeared in July’s tally this year; last year, the show straddled July and August and showed up in 2024’s August tallies.”
The 278,000 convention attendees were down from 251,600. Convention business is up 2.1% for the year.
Shelley Newell, a senior economic analyst with the Nevada Gaming Control Board, said based on discussions with licensees, they are expecting entertainment calendars to pick up in the fourth quarter and 2026.
Among the entertainment cited by Newell in July were New Kids on the Block, who performed in concert at Dolby Live at Park MGM July 2nd through July 5th. The Voltaire Las Vegas at the Venetian hosted Seth McFarlane July 3rd through July 15th. Allegiant Stadium hosted The Weeknd with Playboi Carti & Mike Dean July 4th and 5th. Planet Hollywood hosted the Allstars of Magic at the V Theater July 17th through the 29th. The NAS – Illmatic Live with the Philharmonic was held July 9th through July 19th at Encore Theater at the Wynn. The Backstreet Boys were in concert at the MSG Sphere July 11th through July 22nd. The Chelsea Theater at the Cosmopolitan hosted The Love & Laughter Tour: Toni Braxton & Cedric the Entertainer on July 11th and the 12th. T-Mobile Arena hosted Lady Gaga’s Mayhem Ball Tour on July 16th, 18th, and 19th. The MGM Grand Arena hosted the WBC Welterweight championship contested between premier boxing champions Manny Pacquiao and Mario Barrios on July 19th. Beyoncé performed at Allegiant Stadium July 25th and 26th. Fontainebleau’s BleauLive Theater hosted country singer Brantley Gilbert on July 26th.
Hotel occupancy of 76.1% was down 7.6 points and average daily room rates $155 were down 3.4% year-over-year. Revenue per available room was $118, down 12.1% from July 2024.
Weekend occupancy was 88.8%, down from 93.2% a year ago. Midweek occupancy was 70.9%, down from 79.9% a year ago. Strip occupancy was 79.5%, down from 86.5%. Downtown occupancy was 63%, down from 67.8% a year ago.
The Strip’s average daily room rate was $164.57, down from $170.38. The downtown rate was $87.69, down from $90.77.
In a city where room rates are adjusted by the hour, Hill said that’s not causing any concerns. There’s a room rate for every budget and some places offer a range of inexpensive rooms.
“You can go to lots of places in town right now and get a room for a price that you would never be able to pay in another city,” Hill told CDC Gaming.
As for Las Vegas pricing itself out of the market as the reason for the decline in visitation, Hill addressed that as inaccurate.
“The narrative that we’re overpriced isn’t correct,” Hill said. “We’re still a value and working hard to push that message. Vegas is very competitive. We all work together to get people here and once they’re here, everybody is competing for that business.”
Hill said that competition has been the prompt for Las Vegas to reinvent itself over the years. “That’s a positive thing and Vegas will be better for it.”
The LVCVA has been aggressive in combating the notion that Las Vegas is overpriced. A summer campaign used social-media influencers for budget offerings; in partnerships with Expedia and others, Las Vegas is injected into searches when people are looking at travel destinations.
“We’ve put a big spotlight on the entertainment in the summer and going into the fall,” Hill said. “And more announcements will be forthcoming in the next couple of weeks about efforts to boost visitation.”
Resorts have touted a bounce back in visitation for the fourth quarter and 2026 and Hill likes what he’s hearing from the casinos. Plenty of business groups and trade shows are lined up for the fall and the Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford fight at Allegiant Stadium on Sept. 13 will be followed by the Raiders playing the Chargers on Monday Night Football a few days later in what will be a fantastic weekend, he said.
“We see the trade shows and group meetings and attractions coming. SEMA (the aftermarket auto-parts show) and Formula One come back in November. You get everything around the National Finals Rodeo in December. Those events are huge draws.”
In its annual survey of Las Vegas visitors, the LVCVA discovered one change in consumer behavior they haven’t seen before, Hill said. Visitors to Las Vegas, primarily those driving in from Arizona and California, are staying with family and friends in greater numbers than in the past.
That has impacted hotel occupancy, which was down 6.5% in June and 2.1% so far for the year.
“That number is typically 6% to 7% and in the first half of the year it was 13%,” Hill said. “The numbers are different enough that we’re looking at them. It’s a startling difference from what we’re used to.”
