On April 11, research firm Applied Analysis presented its latest Las Vegas economic findings to the board of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA)—consumer spending habits were perhaps the most notable, as the report showed that despite lower levels of visitation, the average visitor spent $1,156 last year, a 21.6 increase from 2019, the last pre-Covid year.
Overall, visitor spend came in at just under $50 billion in 2022, a new record for the city. Broken down by category, the average tourist spent $1,106, whereas the average business or convention visitor spent $1,495.
During the presentation, Applied Analysis Principal Brian Gordon said that spending went up across all sectors except for sightseeing. Showgoers in particular, Gordon said, spent more than previous years, as the sector accounted for 10 percent of total visitor spending, compared to just six percent in 2019.
“Consumers have been spending more than they have historically and the numbers of visitors coming to Las Vegas is rebounding from the height of COVID,” Gordon said, as reported by CDC Gaming Reports. “Sports- and entertainment-related activities and other special events have been driving the recovery and the premiums that consumers have been paying. That’s a key component to the increased-spend profile.”
Other findings from the report showed that the overall economic impact of visitor spending reached $79.3 billion last year, demolishing the previous record in 2019 by just under 25 percent.
Additionally, the direct and indirect employment from the southern Nevada tourism industry totaled over 350,000, marking an increase of 21 percent from 2021.
Despite increased business spending, the convention industry is still one of the last sectors that has yet to meet and surpass pre-Covid averages. Convention traffic increased to 5 million in 2022, which is still a 25 percent decrease from 2019. According to CDC, Gordon noted that while “2022 convention attendance was below pre-pandemic levels,” the segment still “generated notable economic impacts during the year.”
According to the report, convention spending directly and indirectly supported over 59,000 jobs and over $3 billion in wages last year.
Per CDC, Gordon asserted that the resurgence of “southern Nevada’s convention and meeting segment, as well as the rebound of international visitation, will be keys in maintaining the recovery trajectory of the regional tourism industry.”
Despite all of the optimism and record-setting figures, however, the LVCVA is projecting flat tax revenues for fiscal year 2023-24. Even though the hotel room tax for fiscal year 2022-23 is expected to bring in some $350 million, LVCVA President and CEO Steve Hill indicated that economic uncertainty has caused the agency to give cautious projections for the future.
“We were at approximately $300 million in room tax last fiscal year (2021-22). This year (2022-23) is going to be around $350 million and that’s an unprecedented jump in revenue already,” Hill told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “We anticipate some of the increase in room tax to the increase in spending capacity that our customers and consumers throughout the United States and the world have had.
“Stimulus dollars were made available and our customers’ pocketbooks are doing better than they ever have. As they spend through that extra money they were provided, we can potentially see spending come down somewhat. But we think that will be offset by some of these great events we’re going to have.”
The events that Hill was referring to are November’s Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix race and Super Bowl LVIII, scheduled for February 11, 2024. Both events are expected to have economic impacts of over $750 million.
The LVCVA is set to introduce its budget for 2023-24 on May 9, and a public hearing on the matter will take place May 31. Historically, most of the agency’s budget is earmarked for marketing and advertising—last year, $121.5 million of its $273 million budget was spent on sponsorships and other advertising.
