Las Vegas tourism took a hit last year, but new data suggests Sin City may be showing signs of life again.
uncertain
City → take → life
Las Vegas topped Priceline's list of U.S. destinations with the biggest year-over-year increase in searches for September, beating out Orlando and New York, the New York Post reported.
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Post → top → Orlando
The city also welcomed 2.7% more visitors in July compared with the same month last year, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA).
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city → welcome → Authority
That marks a partial recovery after visitation fell 12% in July 2025.
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visitation → mark → July
Hotel occupancy in July rose 1.1 percentage points year over year to 77.2%, while convention attendance fell 5.6%, according to the LVCVA.
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attendance → rise → LVCVA
Vegas' signs of life come amid frustration from tourists over the rising cost of visiting the city.
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signs → come → city
A $26 minibar bottle of water at Aria, for example, sparked social-media outrage in 2025 after a guest's complaint was published by travel blog "View from the Wing" and picked up by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
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complaint → spark → Journal
It became a symbol of complaints that visitors were being nickel-and-dimed.
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visitors → become → complaints
Las Vegas has yet to fully recover to its pre-pandemic tourism levels.
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Vegas → have → levels
In 2025, Las Vegas welcomed 38.5 million visitors, down 7.5% from 2024, according to the LVCVA.
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Vegas → welcome → LVCVA
Visitor spending fell to $50.8 billion that year, down from $55.1 billion in 2024, according to a report presented to the LVCVA board.
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spending → fall → board
LVCVA President and CEO Steve Hill told the Nevada Economic Forum earlier this month that annual visitor volume remains about 10% below the 42.5 million visitors recorded in 2019.
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volume → tell → 2019
Canadian visitation is down about 30% from 2019 levels, Hill said, while airfare to and from Las Vegas has climbed more than 20% in recent months, according to reports.
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airfare → say → reports
"We are still gradually losing leisure travelers," Hill told the panel.
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Hill → lose → panel
"But right now our convention attendance is so strong that it is more than overcoming that number."
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it → overcome → number
Las Vegas visitors are also getting wealthier — and fewer of them are in their 20s.
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fewer → get → 20s
In 2025, 75% of visitors earned $100,000 or more, according to the LVCVA, and 44% earned $150,000 or more, News 3 Las Vegas reported.
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News → earn → 150,000
Meanwhile, visitation among tourists ages 21 to 29 has fallen more than 10% since 2022, according to the LVCVA.
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visitation → fall → LVCVA
"Gaming was once the dominant revenue driver," luxury-travel expert Whytney Rawls previously told Fox News Digital.
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Rawls → tell → Digital
"Today, a much larger share comes from premium room rates, luxury dining, nightlife, entertainment, retail, and large-scale events.
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share → come → rates
"
Vegas has evolved to capitalize on booming luxury travel by increasingly catering to wealthy clientele, Rawls added.
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Rawls → evolve → clientele
Lavish new restaurants, upgraded hospitality packages and high-profile events such as the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix illustrate the city's push toward premium experiences.
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restaurants → upgrade → experiences
Live entertainment remains another major draw.
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entertainment → remain → ?
The Sphere grossed $379 million on 1.7 million tickets sold in 2025, making it the world's highest-grossing arena for the year, according to Pollstar data reported by The Wall Street Journal.
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it → gross → Journal
Jessica Mekles of Fox News Digital contributed reporting.
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Mekles → contribute → reporting
The Aporia
