- Las Vegas tourism down 7.5 percent.
- Hotel workers say the drop cuts earnings.
- No tax on tips not much help.
LAS VEGAS RECORDED 3.1 million fewer visitors last year, a 7.5 percent decline. It was the city's steepest fall outside the pandemic since the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority began tracking data in 1970.
Hospitality workers say weaker tourism, higher costs and tariffs imposed by the Trump administration are cutting into their earnings, according to ABC News. Nevada's unemployment rate stood at 5.1 percent in June, among the highest in the U.S.
“We have gone as a country from a $51 billion tourism trade surplus in 2019 to a $70 billion trade deficit in travel and tourism under this administration,” Nevada Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez-Masto told ABC News.
Hotel workers say lower hotel occupancy and visitor spending are reducing tips, their main source of income.
Joe Spica, 44, a bellman on the Las Vegas Strip and father of three, said lower hotel occupancy has reduced opportunities for bellmen, cocktail servers and valets.
“I used to be able to pay for multiple dinners for me and my family with my tips from one day,” he was quoted as saying. “Now I'm lucky to get one dinner from a day's tips.”
Aaron Mahan, 52, who works at a to-go window at an off-Strip property, said his restaurant had cut its 24-hour service to breakfast and buffet hours because business could not support the previous schedule.
“Everything's costing more,” said Mahan. “I'm budgeting a lot more than I ever did before.”
Both Mahan and Spica are members of Culinary Workers Union Local 226, which represents 60,000 workers in Las Vegas and Reno.
Union official Ted Pappageorge said President Donald Trump's policy allowing workers to deduct up to $25,000 in tips from federal income taxes offers limited relief, particularly for married couples who share the cap.
Workers said the policy has not offset falling tip income. The benefit comes through a tax deduction, so workers will not receive it until they file their taxes next year.
Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley said the city remains strong, citing convention business and events including Formula One, the Super Bowl and the NCAA Final Four. But Canadian visitors fell 17.4 percent in 2025, the largest decline among North American markets, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
“We are very soft on Canadian business, and I wish that wasn't the case,” Berkley said, adding that some casinos and hotels are offering promotions to bring Canadian visitors back.
Canadian tourism declined after Trump suggested Canada could become the 51st U.S. state and imposed tariffs on Canadian goods.
In March, Noble Investment Group acquired the 214-key Renaissance Reno Downtown Hotel & Spa in Reno, Nevada.
