Las Vegas Visiting Numbers Are Down – A Win for the Visitors
Falling visitor numbers, allied to a weakening dollar, make troubled Las Vegas a great value destination for overseas visitors.
As prices drop, concessions rise, and the dollar weakens, Las Vegas is becoming a value destination once again. © Getty Images
Key Facts:
- Las Vegas visitor numbers are plummeting.
- COVID years apart, Sin City on track to welcome fewest visitors since 2005.
- Over a third of Downtown Las Vegas hotel rooms were empty in June.
- Hotels are now enticing visitors with special offers.
A trip to Sin City may not be cheaper than ever. Still, the latest figures produced by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority suggest the world’s gambling capital is in danger of becoming reasonably priced! Plummeting visitor numbers are the culprit.
Economic uncertainty stemming from President Trump’s policies, including controversial tariffs and strained international relations, particularly with Canada, has deterred overseas tourists from visiting all parts of America in 2025.
Las Vegas has been one of the hardest hit. 2024 may have been a record-breaking year with 41.7 million visitors, but on its current trajectory, 2025 will be the city’s worst since 2005 – if Covid years 2020 and 2021 are removed from calculations.
It’s Not Just Downtown That Is Down
Tourism in Las Vegas has been comparatively down month-on-month compared to last year’s numbers. The latest figures show an 11.3% drop during June 2025 compared to this period last year.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), which produces an executive study of key tourism statistics, underlines that the laws of supply and demand are working as they should.
Its figures show the cost of renting rooms fell by around 6% compared to the corresponding June 2024 period. Inflation over the intervening 12 months rose 2.9%, making the drop even more striking.
The latest figures show the average Las Vegas Strip room cost $174.31 per night in June. Concurrently, a downtown Las Vegas hotel room averaged at just $87.55 (£66) per night. In comparison, the British Tourist Authority says the average room cost in June 2025 in an English hotel was £181.
And, whereas room occupancy for England (excluding London) was 79% during June 2025, LVCVA data shows 37.5% of Downtown Las Vegas hotel rooms were empty, and the entire Las Vegas area operated at 78.7% capacity.
There are currently 150,220 hotel rooms in Las Vegas, a drop of 3,500 from 2024’s number. Worryingly for the corporations that own the city’s hotels, their Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) – a key performance metric in the hospitality industry – is down by 13.5% and 12.2% in Strip and Downtown properties.
A Lot Full of Incentives
This downturn has caused casino executives to offer bundles of incentives to entice customers to their resorts. The enticements began at the start of the year, with simple incentives such as free car parking. They quickly escalated when the continued drop in visiting numbers was apparent.
Currently, the Plaza Hotel & Casino in Downtown Las Vegas has an $125 (£94) per-person all‑inclusive package offer whereby guests receive two meals, ‘bottomless drinks’, waived $44 resort fee, automatic entry to Friday fireworks, rooftop pool access and free parking.
MGM Resorts, owner of some of the world’s biggest hotels, and in Las Vegas the Bellagio, ARIA, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay and others) is offering a Room & Show Package whereby people staying for two nights will receive two show tickets (Cirque, Blue Man Group, Copperfield, etc.), plus up to $75 in daily food & beverage credits.
Another example is Resorts World Las Vegas, whose current carrot-on-a-stick offer is 40% off room rates (with direct bookings), up to $75 daily resort credit for dining, cocktails, and cabanas, no resort fees, and complimentary self-parking.
Cheaper Flights and Better Exchange Rate
While all visitors receive more for their proverbial buck in Las Vegas this summer, British and Eurozone travellers will enjoy a considerably better Las Vegas experience compared to the turn of the year, as the dollar has weakened significantly.
It may be a far cry from the $2.04 one pound would buy in late 2007, but £100 sterling currently buys 10% more American dollars, $133, than it did at the turn of the year. Irish visitors, for example, are even better off with the Euro 15% stronger against the dollar than in January.
Flights from the UK and Irish airports to Las Vegas have ignored inflation and dropped significantly. Between 2023 and 2024, the average return ticket fell by 10% to 12%. The rate of saving has slowed, but analysts say 2025’s flights have cost, on average, 2% less than in 2024.
