With gasoline prices at record highs, visitation to Las Vegas apparently is unaffected. According to a Newsbreak report, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) Vice President of Research Kevin Bagger said Strip tourism typically does not decline due to higher fuel costs, and traffic from Southern California along Interstate 15 was up more than 2 percent in the first month of the year.
“Over the years, there have been spikes in gas prices that historically haven’t had significant impacts on travel demand,” Bagger said in an interview in March. “We are keeping an eye on it because inflation is at a level that we haven’t seen for quite some time.”
According to AAA, gasoline prices in the Las Vegas Valley averaged almost $5.37 for a gallon of regular unleaded last month—$2 a gallon higher than a year ago and up roughly $1.30 from February. Only California has higher per-gallon prices, about $6.
Boyd Gaming Chief Financial Officer Josh Hirsberg told attendees at a recent investor meeting organized by Truist Securities last week that the company’s casinos haven’t experienced any material loss of business because of gas prices rising throughout the country. But if the spike continues over the long term, he warned that could slow business in many drive-in gaming destinations across the U.S.
MGM Resorts International CFO Jonathan Halkyard made similar statements to Well Fargo Securities gaming analyst Daniel Politzer on March 23.
“Consumer demand recovered throughout the first quarter, with recent (hotel) occupancy trends better than expected,” Politzer wrote in a research note.
Politzer said Las Vegas has been a market with roughly 50 percent drive-in business versus 50 percent fly-in business, although MGM Resorts “skews more toward fly-in given in its premium room product.”
Despite his positive view toward the Strip, he did worry that any additional spike in fuel costs could “create some near-term demand choppiness for the leisure/transient customer.”
AAA said people are still traveling despite the high gas prices. Overall February online bookings were up 42 percent over 2021 and up just 1 percent from pre-pandemic 2019. “Las Vegas remains the top destination for hotel bookings,” AAA said.
