LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — While tourism in Las Vegas remains relatively stable, tourism leaders say several economic warning signs could make travelers think twice before booking a trip to Southern Nevada.
Steve Hill, CEO and president of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, outlined those concerns when speaking to state lawmakers during last week's Economic Forum meeting, where officials help forecast state revenues for Nevada's upcoming budget cycle.
Hill said Americans are feeling squeezed by rising costs, growing credit card debt and broader economic uncertainty.
"Regardless of how the economy is affecting people, how they feel it is affecting them and their viewpoint and their concern about that is at an 80-year low," Hill said.
One of the biggest pressures impacting Las Vegas tourism is the rising cost of air travel.
"What affects us an awful lot here in Las Vegas is jet fuel. Jet fuel has gone from about $2 a gallon to hitting $4 and, actually, for a little while, it peaked at about $5," Hill said. "Across the country, one-way airfare, well, two-way airfare too, is up about 12%. Here in Las Vegas, it's more than that. It is up over 20% recently. The airlines are telling us right now that this is not affecting demand."
Still, passenger traffic at Harry Reid International Airport has continued to decline.
Year-to-date, in 2026, 30,203,954 people have traveled through the airport, which is down from 32,430,240 in 2025 — a decrease of 6.86%.
Hill said the loss of Spirit Airlines as a major low-cost carrier has also affected travelers looking for cheaper options.
"Spirit was the number two carrier into Harry Reid, and so, the loss of Spirit has both eliminated a lot of seats that more than 50% have been backfilled by these carriers. They will meet the demand that is there. But we have also removed one of the lowest-cost options for our visitors when they did so," Hill said. "That feels unlikely to change going forward. I think these prices will be fairly inelastic as we move forward. If fuel drops, not sure there's a reason for the carriers to reduce quickly their prices in response."
Despite the slowdown in leisure travel, convention business continues to help offset some of the decline. Hill said convention attendance is up 11.2% year-over-year, enough to outweigh losses from fewer leisure travelers.
"Right now, our convention attendance is so strong that it is more than overcoming that number [of declining leisure travelers] and net, we are up more than 100,000 year-over-year," Hill said.
At the same time, visitors who are still traveling to Las Vegas are spending more money once they arrive.
According to LVCVA data, between 2019 and 2025, visitor spending is up 52%. Gaming revenue in Clark County also continues to grow. The Nevada Gaming Control Board reported the county generated more than $1.17 billion in gaming revenue in July, up 1.51% from the same time last year.
International tourism, however, remains a concern — especially from Canada.
"Canada is down 30%. It has been our largest source of international visitation. Obviously, Canada and Mexico being relatively close, not overseas, are half of our international visitation in a normal year," Hill said. "The drop in visitation from Canada equals our [total] visitation from Australia, so it's a chunk."
Lawmakers also asked tourism leaders about the expected impact of the future Athletics ballpark in Las Vegas.
Hill said projections presented to lawmakers in 2023 estimated about 9,000 visitors coming to town per game across 81 home games each season, translating to roughly 400,000 additional annual visitors.
“That’s about a 1% growth in visitation,” Hill said, adding the estimate does not fully account for concerts and other non-baseball events expected at the stadium.
According to LVCVA data, the makeup of Las Vegas visitors is beginning to shift.
"We are seeing a shift in the age of our visitors. Folks 21 to 29 are dropping pretty significantly. Folks 65 and older are dropping significantly. Some of that, you would normally expect, but we had seen years where that really wasn't the case," Hill said. "What we are seeing is a big jump in the percentage of those 30 to 50. Now, again, you've got to keep in mind this is in the face of about a four million person reduction in visitation. So what you're seeing is where that reduction has taken place."
Due to those demographics changing, Hill said the valley will rely more on repeat visitors as opposed to first-time tourists.
"People still love Las Vegas," Hill said. "They just don't feel that it's as easy to make the decision to come, given the necessities that they have to fund in their life."
Zooming out to a state view, Rafael Villanueva, the CEO of Travel Nevada, said declining visitation trends in the hubs of Las Vegas and Reno can trickle out to the rest of the state.
"In 2025, Nevada visitation, visitor volume declined 6.5%, the first annual decline since the pandemic. That decline was driven primarily by lower visitation to Las Vegas. This is why the gateway relationship has become important. When fewer people enter Nevada through Las Vegas, there's fewer potential travelers available to continue further through the state," Villanueva said. "When Las Vegas catches the cold, rural Nevada can get the flu."
With more travelers choosing less expensive options, Villanueva said this could be an opportunity for rural destinations across the state to cash in.
"The rural communities are well-positioned with regional road trips, outdoor reaction, experienced travelers may view as more accessible and affordable," Villanueva said. "We're doubling down on our outdoor rec programs and marketing efforts that we believe will be very strong for rural communities."
Looking ahead, tourism officials said they remain cautiously optimistic.
"We expect modest disposable income growth, inflation that continues to cool slowly, a labor market that continues adding jobs at a slower pace, and wage growth that remains positive but moderate," Villanueva told lawmakers. "Nevada will also need room inventory, including the Hard Rock in Las Vegas, while benefiting from these strong event calendars. Taken together, our current expectations are for modest gains in visitation and average daily rate through Fiscal [Year] 2029."