Paul Szydelko
Final 2025 numbers are in and confirm what Las Vegas tourism officials could see coming for most of the past year -- a grinding halt to the steady increase in visitation to the destination since the pandemic.
After an undeniably strong 2023 and an incrementally better 2024, 2025's key indicators finished with a slew of red down arrows.
About 38.5 million visited Las Vegas in 2025, down 7.5% from 2024, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority's Research Center. Hotel room occupancy was 80.3%, down 3.3 points from 2024; average daily room rate was $183.52, down 5% from 2024; and revenue per available room was $147.30, down 8.8% from 2024.
For some perspective, the Strip continued to fill more hotel rooms on average than any other U.S. city on any given night, the LVCVA's summary noted. With about 150,300 hotel rooms, Las Vegas maintains the largest hotel inventory in the U.S. and second in the world. Las Vegas' 80.3% occupancy compares to a U.S. hotel occupancy average of 62.3%.
"Las Vegas operates at a scale that few destinations can match, and 2025 required us to remain nimble as conditions evolved," said LVCVA president and CEO Steve Hill.
Examples of the LVCVA’s efforts to encourage visitation included a "Welcome to Fabulous" marketing campaign that emphasized multiple price points and an unprecedented citywide sale in September.
Shifting travel dynamics and economic uncertainty spurring cautious consumer sentiment defined 2025, the LVCVA's summary concluded.
"Despite a challenging environment, convention demand remained steady, the events calendar remained strong and the destination continued to adapt in real time," Hill said.
Geopolitical conditions
Las Vegas, and travel and tourism in general, contended with geopolitical conditions that created a challenging environment, said Anthony Lucas, a professor at the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
"The United States has taken up some pretty strong positions with other countries and tariffs and whatnot. I think that definitely hurt our international tourism," Lucas said.
U.S. neighbors to the north were especially reticent. Canadian airlines finished the year with steep drops at Harry Reid Airport: WestJet's passenger total for 2025 fell about 28% from the previous year, and Air Canada's total dropped almost 22%.
Lucas concurred with the LVCVA's note that travel decisions throughout the year reflected more cautious consumer sentiment, particularly among value-oriented travelers.
"There's so much uncertainty in the economy regarding consumer confidence," Lucas said. "The current administration is extremely volatile, and their actions and their positions damaged consumer confidence. So people get austere, and they start tightening the belt."
When asked what Strip resort CEOs are honestly thinking going into 2026, Lucas said: "Settle down, Washington! Settle down. Like, you know, you're killing us. … That’s what they're gonna say, 'Could we just be a little more diplomatic?'
"Clearly, we're not perceived as a friendly place to visit. Aside from a slightly weaker dollar (which means foreign currency goes further here), CEOs have got to be saying, 'Can we just back off on the heavy-handed rhetoric and tariffs and aggressive foreign policy?'"
Las Vegas has proven resilient in the past, its marketing initiatives often leading the way, Lucas said.
"Historically, Vegas has done a masterful job of marketing itself as a destination," Lucas said. "I would hesitate to say anything too critical because it was a novel effect [in 2025], and so you've got to give them time to figure out what to do next. … It takes a while to adjust to such an abrupt change in reality."