Sports tourism aiding Las Vegas economy
Las Vegas’ recent emphasis on sports tourism and the apparent reversal of a common visitation trend are keeping Southern Nevada’s tourism economy healthy, a UNLV expert said Tuesday.
Amanda Belarmino, an assistant professor at UNLV’s William F. Harrah College of Hospitality, said a win from Donald Trump in the November election for president would likely help the tourism economy. She declined to expand on why.
She also said visitation’s moderate climb has been sustained by the emphasis on sports tourism as well as a hangover from the post-COVID-19 days when people valued trips and experiences over other expenses.
“We know that we are in a bad economy for most Americans right now, however this has not impacted travel and tourism as it usually does,” Belarmino said in an email.
“In part this seems to be a hangover from COVID where people are prioritizing trips over other types of expenses,” she said. “Additionally, we know we have seen growth due to sports tourism. This a new segment for us, and without it, we might be seeing the impacts of the economy more than we are. The softening in the first quarter for the city already indicates that without the boost from sports tourism, we would already be in a downturn.”
Her remarks came as the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported Tuesday that visitation to the city after nine months in 2024 is up 2.9 percent to 31.4 million people after September visits were up a modest 1.6 percent from a year ago.
“With a busy calendar of conventions and events, including the Canelo Alvarez-Edgar Berlanga boxing match, the Pink Summer Carnival concert, iHeartRadio music festival and two Raiders home games, September hosted nearly 3.4 million visitors over last year,” said Kevin Bagger, vice president of the LVCVA Research Center.
“Convention attendance reached approximately 527,000 for the month, up 29 percent, supported in part by show rotation, including the Workday Rising convention (20,000 attendees) and the quadrennial MINExpo tradeshow (50,000 attendees),” he said.
Hotel occupancy was up 1.3 percentage points to 83.9 percent, but there were fewer hotel rooms to fill with the closures of the Tropicana and Mirage since last year despite the additions of rooms at the Fontainebleau and Durango.
After an 11.7 percent increase in the average daily room rate in August, September rates fell 2.6 percent to $196.34 a night.
Auto traffic on major highways leading to Las Vegas was up 3.1 percent to 127,388 cars per day, according to the Nevada Department of Transportation, which doesn’t differentiate between tourists and local traffic. Harry Reid International Airport hasn’t yet released its September passenger counts.
Belarmino said Southern Nevadans should pay attention to election results to gauge what’s on the horizon for the tourism economy. She expects better results if former President Donald Trump is elected.
“As an expert on consumer behavior and economics, if we have another four years of the same administration, I believe that Las Vegas needs to be prepared for an economic downturn,” Belarmino said. “We cannot continue on the current path and expect to continue to see growth. Increased government spending does not tend to increase our tourism, however tax cuts, reduced fuel prices and reduced inflation consistently have a significant positive impact on the Las Vegas economy.”
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.