Las Vegas Tourism Drops Fourth Month in a Row Amid Economic Distress
Las Vegas' tourism numbers fell for the fourth straight month in April 2025, showing ongoing distress within the city's tourism sector. The city hosted about 3.3 million visitors during the month, falling 5.1% compared to last year, according to statistics reported by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA).
LVCVA research director Kevin Bagger attributed the falling figures to consumers behaving more cautiously after changes in federal policies, despite a strong performance from convention events such as WrestleMania, which was estimated to bring up to 180,000 visitors to Las Vegas.
Air arrivals in Las Vegas also continued to decline. Harry Reid International Airport handled 4.7 million passengers in April, 3.6% less than a year ago, and for the third month in succession.
Domestic and international flights decreased. Three of Las Vegas' best five airlines saw a decrease in passenger traffic: United Airlines and Southwest Airlines both saw a less than 1% decrease, while Spirit Airlines plummeted by 26.8%. So far this year, Spirit traffic has fallen off by 24%, and Southwest traffic is off 3.6%.
Traffic on international air travel also decelerated. Systemwide departures and arrivals on international routes decreased 3.4% to 310,969 passengers. Canada's two largest airlines operating in Las Vegas, WestJet and Air Canada, experienced sharp year-over-year passenger volume drops.
Feeling the pressure
The Nevada sports betting and gaming industry also reported continuous declines. Statewide April gaming revenue was $1.2 billion, down 0.5% from the same month a year ago, the Nevada Gaming Control Board reported.
The Las Vegas Strip, which accounts for a large portion of the state's gaming revenue, reported a 2.9% drop in monthly wins to $646.9 million, while downtown Las Vegas saw a slight increase of 1%, reporting $83.6 million.
Local gaming markets within the state experienced bigger shifts. Wendover experienced a 10.9% boost in gaming revenue, and North Lake Tahoe experienced an 18.4% drop.
From April 2024 through July 2025, state gaming revenue was off 1.1% to $13 billion. Clark County, which houses the Strip and downtown Las Vegas, collectively tallied a 1.3% drop to $11.3 billion. The Strip posted $7.3 billion, a 3.3% decline, while downtown Las Vegas increased 2.7% to $794.2 million. Some residents and visitors are still taking advantage of Nevada sportsbook promos.
Tax receipts from gaming were also level. By the end of April, Nevada collected $66 million in percentage gaming-related fees during the month. That resulted in a ten-month total for the fiscal year of $911.2 million, a practically negligible 0.07% decline from the same point in 2024. The state imposes a tax on gaming at a rate up to 6.7% of gross receipts.
In addition to the regular tax harvest, the state is also making money from recent crackdown operations. The Nevada Gaming Commission has assessed $24.5 million in fines on major players in the past three months.
