Fridays still carry the familiar energy of Las Vegas - crowded luggage carousels, long rideshare queues and busy terminals at Harry Reid International. By Monday, however, the city’s tempo changes noticeably. "Our peaks are still peaks, and our valleys are softer," said James Chrisley, director of the Clark County Aviation Department, capturing the growing gap between weekend strength and weekday softness.
The softening in demand is appearing across multiple gauges: visitation, airport passengers, hotel revenue and workers' pay. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported that the city attracted about 3.1 million fewer visitors in 2025, a decline of 7.5% - the sharpest annual drop outside the pandemic era since record-keeping began in 1970. The agency does not publish a split between domestic and international visitors.
Passenger traffic at Harry Reid fell about 6% during 2025, with December - a month usually supported by holiday travel - down 10.3%. The weakening is concentrated in leisure travel, the sector that drives Las Vegas’ economy, while conventions have generally been more resilient.
Analysts and city officials trace some of the trends to diverging behaviors among income groups. Surveys cited by Federal Reserve officials and comments made in recent airline earnings calls indicate that higher-income households continue to book travel at relatively consistent rates, while those feeling the pinch are trimming discretionary spending. With the top 10% of earners accounting for an outsized share of consumer spending, economists warn that a sudden pullback in affluent, market-linked spending could elevate recession risks.
"I think this is more of a microcosm of where the American consumer is than necessarily telling us where the American economy is going," said Andrew Woods, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Nevada. He noted that other major vacation destinations have not experienced the same visitor declines as Las Vegas, and attributed part of the city’s vulnerability to its relatively high prices and fees, which make it susceptible as budget-conscious travelers cut back.
The midweek weakness is particularly consequential because Monday through Thursday stays supply steady occupancy that covers payrolls and keeps restaurants, entertainment venues and casino floors operating. When that midweek volume evaporates, hotels typically respond with price reductions, promotional offers or added perks to try to backfill rooms.
On the Strip, the effect is visible: self-parking garages that overflow on weekends thin out during weekdays, though valet lanes continue to move. Location data from Placer.ai indicates a tilt toward weekend visits rather than the steady midweek mix that Las Vegas hotels rely on to maintain stable operations.
Visitors and workers described a combination of forces shaping decisions to travel. Political unease played a role for some international tourists: Fernanda Loiza, visiting from Guatemala, suggested that an immigration crackdown by the Trump administration has discouraged some potential visitors and left others fearful to "come and openly and freely enjoying Las Vegas." The city’s international travelers are particularly valuable because they tend to stay longer and spend more than domestic day-trippers.
Local tourism workers and guides also point to sticker shock. Tour guide Michael Hillman summed up a common refrain: "Ten bucks for a bottle of water," he said. "People don’t see a deal anymore." That perception matters when travelers face a choice to shorten trips, trade down accommodations or skip discretionary travel altogether.
Hotel companies have acknowledged the pressure. MGM Resorts said this month that revenue and earnings at its Las Vegas properties declined in the fourth quarter and for full-year 2025, attributing outsized weakness to its value-oriented properties such as Luxor and Excalibur, even as company executives indicated trends were improving into 2026. Caesars Entertainment reported that profit and revenue fell in its Las Vegas segment both in the quarter ending December and across all of 2025; Caesars said full-year profit was down about 20% year-on-year on roughly a 5% decline in revenue.
Data from CoStar Group showed midweek revenue per available room fell about 11% in 2025. "Las Vegas remains a predominantly leisure-driven hotel market," said Michael Stathokostopoulos, a senior market analyst at CoStar. He and others emphasized that inflation and economic uncertainty are encouraging travelers to skip trips, shorten stays or downgrade choices when they do travel.
Airlines have adjusted as well. Cirium data indicates U.S. carriers have scheduled about 7% fewer seats into Las Vegas for the first quarter of 2026 compared with the year-earlier period. International capacity into the city is also down, with major Canadian carriers cutting capacity for the quarter by about 30% - a notable factor because Canada is a key overseas feeder market. Observers linked some of the Canadian pullback to increased reluctance among Canadians to travel to the United States given political tensions, including fallout from tariffs and immigration-related policies.
The effects reach workers on the front lines. Federal data cited in local commentary shows wages in Las Vegas remain below the national average while inflation and unemployment rates are higher locally. On the Strip, those dynamics appear in shrinking tips and reduced hours. Joe Spica, a bellman at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and a Culinary Workers Union shop steward, said totals may not have collapsed but that spending has. "They’re not tipping as much," he said. "Tips have gone ridiculously down," Spica added, describing the immediate impact on his household as prices at grocery stores climb.
Union leaders and workers report that the initial response to slowing demand is not large-scale layoffs but the elimination of extra shifts and on-call hours - a cut that hits part-time workers and those relying on marginal hours first. Ted Pappageorge, secretary-treasurer of Culinary Workers Union Local 226, described that pattern as the beginning of a slowdown hitting household incomes before broader staffing changes follow.
For job seekers, the downturn is tangible. Shuang Woo, 26, said she has struggled to secure interviews and has received a string of automated rejections, prompting her to enroll in training to become a casino dealer. "It’s been really tough," she said. "The entire city runs on tourism."
Industry observers and local officials will be watching several indicators for signs of recovery or further weakening. Spring booking trends and early summer reservations will offer a gauge of consumer confidence, and drive-in traffic from Southern California - a major feeder market - may provide an early read on household willingness to travel in the months ahead.
In the near term, hotels are relying on seasonal offers, dining credits and enhanced packages introduced since late 2025 to stimulate demand. But analysts caution that these moves can compress revenue and margins while leaving hotels more dependent on promotions to sustain occupancy.
The changing mix of travelers and the drop in midweek volume are translating into real operational adjustments across Las Vegas’ hospitality and travel ecosystem - from flight schedules and room rates down to the hours and tips that sustain service workers’ incomes. As the city absorbs the largest annual visitor decline outside the pandemic in its modern records, the coming months will test whether promotions and a steadier convention calendar are sufficient to restore midweek balance or whether the city’s leisure-heavy model faces a longer adjustment period.