How the COVID-19 Pandemic Affects Tourism and Travel in Las Vegas
Photo by Stephen Leonardi on Unsplash
On March 17 of 2020, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak ordered all non-essential businesses to close due to the Coronavirus pandemic. From that moment on, life in Las Vegas has been turbulent. Who can forget the images of the empty Las Vegas Strip, a scene previously unheard of? Talk about a surreal sight. The closures subsequently devastated the city’s finances which closed businesses, caused people to lose their jobs, and forced state lawmakers to make budget cuts.
As we enter the second quarter of 2021, the pandemic is still pervasive across the globe. Las Vegas is no longer completely shut down, but restrictions severely impact daily life, resulting in a prolonged recovery. Businesses can’t survive without people making money and going out to spend it. This cycle affects a city like Las Vegas harder than those who don’t rely heavily on tourism.
It’s no secret that the Las Vegas Strip serves as the lifeblood of Las Vegas’s economy, providing millions of tourism dollars annually from travelers who enjoy the destination. According to the tourism tracker from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), volume in 2020 was significantly decreased among numerous categories.
Visitor Volume – Decrease of 55.2 percent
Convention Attendance – Decrease of 74 percent
Occupancy Rate – Decrease of 54.3 percent
Casinos were reopened a few months following the March 17 shutdown, but the damage was already done, and gaming revenue was low. Per a December 2020 article by the Associated Press, the Nevada Gaming Control Board cited a 32.5 percent decrease among Strip casinos in November 2020 compared to November 2019. In addition, Downtown Las Vegas casinos dropped 17.4 percent in revenue for the year, and the state’s total gaming revenue was down 17.7 percent.
With the Coronavirus pandemic laying siege to the economy, airfare suffered as much as gaming revenue. McCarran International Airport reported passenger numbers for November 2020 at 1.8 million compared to 4.1 million for the month a year before - a 56.7 percent decrease. McCarran also saw a 56.6 percent drop in total passengers from 2019 to 2020.
People aren’t traveling as much, not only due to social distancing protocols but because there are more minor things to keep busy with. The threat of COVID-19 combined with the closure of businesses forced Las Vegas to lose many of its annual money-making conventions and trade shows. A story from the Las Vegas Review-Journal put this problem in perspective. They explain the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) alone cost Las Vegas hundreds of millions of dollars this year by going virtual instead of taking place on the Las Vegas Strip. Citing the LVCVA, 2020’s CES show brought in 180,000 people and had an estimated economic impact of $291 million. You can understand the scope of how much money has been missed with more conferences canceled or switched to virtual.
With that being said, it may seem surprising that Priceline recently named Las Vegas the most popular city for domestic travel from January 1, 2020, through December 7, 2020, based on hotel bookings on its platform. It’s encouraging that people still want to visit, yet it doesn't mean Vegas has ultimately returned to form. Las Vegas and its famous Strip will always be a tourist attraction but, it just won’t look the same as it did pre-pandemic for a while.