Las Vegas Tops List as Tourists’ Favourite Destination in the US

A new report from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) revealed that Las Vegas, as a tourist destination, has experienced dramatic growth in recent years with the addition of new resort properties, expanded convention and meeting space, professional sports teams, and new venues such as Allegiant Stadium. 

Following the disproportionate impacts suffered by tourist destinations like Las Vegas during the pandemic, Las Vegas demonstrated a strong rebound as a favourite location for pent-up travel demand. Visitor spending in 2022 hit an all-time high of $44.9 billion, exceeding pre-pandemic levels. Total spending by visitors in 2022 outpaced the prior year by 24.4 per cent and the 2019 total by 21.8 per cent.

The ripple effects of visitor spending apply to output impacts as they do with employment and wage impacts. The indirect impacts of supplier and vendor activity  related to the tourism industry totalled $15.5 billion, while the induced impacts generated by tourism industry employees totalled $18.9 billion. When these rippled impacts are combined with the direct spending impacts, the overall impact of visitor spending on the Southern Nevada economy grew to $79.3 billion, which accounts for about half (51.7 per cent) of all regional economic activity.

Visitor spending in Southern Nevada hit an all-time high of $44.9 billion in 2022, far exceeding pre-pandemic levels. Total spending by visitors during the year outpaced the prior year by 24.4 per cent and the 2019 total by 21.8 per cent. Despite falling 3.7 million visitors short of 2019 visitation, overall spending increased dramatically due to a 33.4 per cent rise in per-visitor spending compared with 2019.

On a per-visitor basis, spending climbed to an all-time high of $1,156 in 2022, 3.3 per cent higher than in 2021. Compared to 2019, visitor spending increased for all categories except sightseeing, and spending shares by category mostly resembled pre-pandemic patterns with some notable shifts.

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Spending on entertainment increased markedly compared to 2019 as Southern Nevada hosted a growing array of headliner residencies, large concerts and entertainment productions. While fewer visitors attended shows compared to 2019, those who did spend significantly more, which drove entertainment to represent 10.1 per cent of total visitor spending, up from 6.0 per cent in 2019. Conversely, visitors spent a smaller portion of their budgets on sightseeing, which declined from 3.4 per cent to 1.2 per cent of per-visitor spending. Spending shares among the other major categories are generally tracked with pre-pandemic trends.

The tourism workforce in Southern Nevada is an essential component of the regional economy. Tourism activity has gradually recovered since the pandemic, and with it rising employment at the resorts, hotels and casinos in the region, as well as the workers in bars, restaurants, nightclubs, retail outlets, sightseeing tour companies, taxicab operators and all other tourism-related businesses that cater to visitors. While it was about 5 per cent below pre-pandemic levels, the tourism workforce in 2022 grew to 229,440 and remained the largest employment sector in Southern Nevada.

Hotels and casinos were one of the largest employers in Southern Nevada, directly employing 133,850 workers in 2022. That total represented 12.8 per cent of the region’s total employment and 14.1 per cent of private employment. An additional 95,590 employees working in other tourism-related businesses were estimated to be directly supported by visitor spending. 

If you’re looking for a destination that offers maximum benefits and entertainment to tourists, look no further as Las Vegas has proved itself to be the hot bed for tourists attractions and activities.