Las Vegas, the world’s best-known convention city, is showing signs of serious strain as tourism and business travel falter in the wake of President Trump’s economic agenda.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) reported that visitor numbers fell 11.3% in June and are down 7.3% across the first half of 2025 — a decline not seen outside national crises such as the financial crash or the pandemic. Hotel occupancy dropped nearly 10% in June, while revenue per room fell 13.8%.
For business travellers and meeting planners, the slowdown is already evident. Major hotel groups have reported weaker corporate midweek bookings, while restaurants and entertainment venues are trimming hours and cutting back staff.
MGM Resorts, operator of 12 properties on the Strip, blamed its 9% second-quarter earnings fall partly on a dip in group demand at its more affordable hotels. Caesars Entertainment posted an 8% decline over the same period.
Analysts say the downturn could affect Las Vegas’s position as America’s meetings capital, with knock-on effects for incentive travel, exhibitions, and conferences that form the backbone of its $4bn tourism economy.
“Las Vegas has always been a bellwether for US discretionary and corporate spending,” said Mike PeQueen, managing director at Hightower Las Vegas. “When budgets tighten, business trips, conferences and incentive travel are among the first to be cut.”
The city’s importance to the global meetings and events sector was underlined last year when it hosted the 2024 Travelling for Business Awards. Its state-of-the-art venues and unrivalled hospitality offering make it a natural choice for such global showcases — which is why the current slowdown is being watched so closely by the corporate travel sector.
The reasons go beyond global uncertainty. Executives point to the impact of Trump’s tariffs, which have raised costs and eroded consumer confidence, and his immigration crackdown, which has unsettled international visitors. Canadians, traditionally a strong inbound market for Las Vegas, are staying away, while local unions say Latino travellers have become more cautious amid high-profile immigration raids.
While international visitors account for only 12% of arrivals, the slowdown is concentrated in domestic business, raising concerns about whether companies will scale back on the large conferences that fill hotel blocks midweek. Preliminary LVCVA data also shows an increase in visitors staying with friends and family rather than booking hotels — further eroding hospitality revenues.
For the travel trade and investors, the downturn is beginning to influence strategy. Tilman Fertitta, Trump’s ambassador to Italy and owner of the Golden Nugget, last month shelved plans for a new 2,400-room casino-resort on the Strip, citing caution in the investment climate.
The slump could also have political implications. Nevada’s hospitality sector, one of the largest private employers in the state, swung behind Trump after his promise to scrap taxes on tips. But with occupancy falling and staff tips declining, union leaders warn the city’s workforce is now facing real pressure.
Ted Pappageorge, secretary-treasurer of the 60,000-member Culinary Workers Union, said: “The tax credit doesn’t matter if the tips dry up. Without a correction, Las Vegas could see significant lay-offs.”
For now, meeting planners and corporate travel buyers may find bargains, with hotels cutting rates and offering generous incentives. But the deeper concern is whether a slowdown in America’s entertainment capital signals something more profound: a retreat in the country’s consumer and corporate confidence.