Temperatures in the Mojave Desert are scorching hot nowadays, as they are every summer, but summer 2025 doesn’t look as hot for Las Vegas as in previous years in terms of visitor numbers.
Summer has traditionally been slower in the world’s gambling mecca, as it’s just too hot for non-gambling activities and tourism, like hiking, family trips to the Grand Canyon and National Parks, etc. But even compared to previous summers, something is very different in Las Vegas this year. Things are much quieter, as the city is experiencing a significant drop in visitor numbers.
Ziv Chen, a gambling industry journalist and regular contributor to Covers, went to Las Vegas to investigate in person what is happening with tourism there this summer, how the decline in visitor numbers is affecting the city, and what Las Vegas is doing to fight back.
When did you first notice the decline?
Ziv Chen: Every summer is quiet in Las Vegas, but we’ve noticed the drop in numbers from earlier this year. Visitors were down 1% in January, so I didn’t think much of it, but in March, my friends from UNLV called to discuss February numbers, which showed a huge drop of almost 12% year-on-year in visitor numbers.
Then, we saw single-digit declines through April and another huge drop of more than 11% in June. So numbers have been falling since the start of the year. If you’re looking at the six months leading to July, 19.5 million tourists came to visit Las Vegas, less 7% year-on-year.
More specifically, what does summer look like?
ZC: June is early in the summer, but if this year’s events are any indication, things aren’t looking good for Las Vegas. In June, the city saw three million visitors. A year ago, nearly 3.5 million came to Vegas in June. So that’s half a million people less, and if you’re looking at the entire summer, you’re probably looking at a drop of at least a million visitors this summer.
Are internationals staying away this summer?
ZC: That’s a very good question. Looking at last year’s numbers, 20.1 million travelers flew into Las Vegas from U.S. domestic airports compared to 1.8 million who flew directly from outside of the country. There’s obviously a skew in numbers because many international travelers connect through domestic airports. But still, you can’t say that international tourists are the main cause of the summer slump. On the contrary, incoming passengers from outside the country into Vegas were up 15% year-on-year compared to a nominal 0.2% from domestic airports.
What about the tariffs everyone is talking about?
ZC: If you want to look at the correlation to the geolocation climate, take a closer look at the countries of visitor origin. Of the total international visitors, Canada represents 48%, followed by Mexico’s 21%. So are we seeing fewer tourists from these two countries this summer? Probably.
How does the drop affect the hospitality sector?
ZC: The average room-occupancy rate is two people per room, so when looking at hotel occupancy numbers, they correlate with visitor decline. Total hotel occupancy was down 6% in June, compared to an 11% visitor decline. But keep in mind that because of recent hotel closures (e.g., Mirage and Tropicana), there are 3,000 fewer rooms (2%) than there were last year.
In a fascinating meeting with Professor David G. Schwartz in his office at the UNLV campus, he immediately opened reports, and within minutes, we were submerged in the numbers.
“The bright spot is that, although tourism numbers are down, gaming is up,” he said, referring me to the Nevada Gaming Control Board's latest revenue reports.
Professor Schwartz noted that gaming revenues in June were up 3.5% year-on-year, where casinos across Clark County collected $1.3 billion compared to $1.1 billion in June 2024. “But now, let’s get into a much more interesting story the numbers are telling us,” he continued. “While casinos on the Las Vegas Strip showed an increase of less than 1%, from $758 million in June 2024 to $765 million this past June, downtown casino revenues increased by more than 10% for the same period, from $66 million in June 2024 to $73 million this past June.”
When I asked about the difference, he explained that the lower table limits and cheaper hotels, food, and beverages make the downtown area appeal to locals and a different demographic of visitors, as opposed to the Strip, which appeals to high-end tourism.
Professor Schwarz also pointed out that Boulder area casinos, which are predominantly visited by locals, have shown an increase of more than 19% year on year. “Although Boulder casinos represent a much smaller portion of the overall gaming revenues, it is still a considerable increase, and combined with downtown, it shows that locals are still gambling and pushing the economy.”
When I asked about other sources of income besides gaming, Professor Schwarz referred me to a report that shows the departmental income across hospitality and gaming locations. “Let’s take a look at the big Las Vegas Strip locations, which are the essence of high-end tourism in the city,” he said. “In 1990, food was a loss maker, costing 6%. In the 2000s, the trend reversed, and in 2024, food generated an 18% revenue margin.”
He explained how food revenue margins increased by more than 9% over the period. “The 1990s were the cheap buffet era. Food was a loss leader back then in Las Vegas, so you know that you’re going to lose money for every steak you put on the grill. In the 2000s, celebrity chef restaurants started to appear, creating room and demand for more high-end dining. And after COVID buffets did reopen, but started to adjust pricing.”
How was your own experience compared to the numbers?
ZC: I’ve been travelling to Las Vegas for work several times a year, and have been here at different seasons. Summer always feels quieter, but even in comparison to previous summers, you can really feel there are fewer people around.
Airport
In June, 4.7 million people travelled through Harry Reid International Airport, a drop of 6% year on year.
It usually takes me between an hour and an hour and a half to go through passport control and baggage claim. On this visit, I was waiting outside for my Uber less than 30 minutes after landing.
Roads
In the first half of the year, 255,000 vehicles travelled the I-15 highway across the California/Nevada border. It’s a slight drop (less than 1%) from the same period last year. When looking at traffic on all major highways, traffic over the same period in 2025 actually increased by 2% year on year, with 790,000 vehicles.
My hotel was in the center of the Strip, and I’m used to the drivers coming from the airport taking a road parallel to the Strip (usually through Paradise Road). But when I noticed the driver was taking me from the airport through Las Vegas Boulevard, I asked them if it wouldn’t take longer, and they said that the roads are very quiet, even compared to previous summers. So, despite the number of cars on all major highways increasing, to me, everything seemed very quiet on the road.
Hotel
Total hotel occupancy was 78% in June, a 6% drop year on year.
I booked one of the largest, busiest hotels on the Strip, and the hotel check-in was also empty. As I came on a Friday night, I was expecting long lines, as this is usually a busy time, so this was a surprise. The casino floor was as busy as I’d expect it to be in the evenings and during the day, but there were still many empty tables and slots. And in the morning, the casino was the emptiest I’ve ever seen it. However, the pools, food courts, lobby, and other public areas were busy.
The Strip
Strip hotel occupancy was 82%, less 6% year on year.
The north and center of the strip were quiet. Especially the Linq Promenade, which is usually busy at night, especially during weekends. There were many people around, but it was a lot quieter than I’ve ever seen it. Things did get busier, however, as I walked south towards the Bellagio, and then really busy around the Paris and MGM Grand on the south side.
Downtown
Downtown hotel occupancy was 62%, down 7% year on year.
Fremont Street and the downtown area were buzzing and full of people. It wasn’t as busy at the Fremont Street experience as I remembered it from previous summers, but the casinos I went into (Circa, Golden Nugget, El Cortez, etc.) were all busy and full of players at both tables and slots. As a lot of the crowd consists of Las Vegas locals, the downtown area felt busy and didn’t feel as quiet as the Strip.
Sphere
I went to watch a movie at the Sphere, and it was really empty. Entire rows and sections were empty, and I felt as if I had the place to myself.
Convention Center
A total 3.2 million visitors came to Las Vegas for conventions in the first half of 2025, a 1.5% increase compared to the corresponding period in 2024.
Knowing that convention visitor numbers are one of the bright spots this year, I went to Convention Center Drive during a workday to check it out. It was actually very busy with conference visitors, both at the convention center itself and in the surrounding streets, bars, and restaurants. You could see the town was full of conference goers (I spotted them by their lanyards).
