Las Vegas tourism rebounded nicely last year from the 2020 pandemic, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), which issued its first annual visitation report after a one-year hiatus due to the pandemic.
According to the report, while 2020 visitation was only half of the 42 million people who visited in 2019, in 2021, tourism rebounded to 32 million visitors, despite the pandemic effects on air travel. The report found the highest visitation was from California, which provided around 30 percent of total visits. Six of every 10 visitors were from the western United States, with just over half arriving by car.
Nearly all of the visitors to Las Vegas last year were U.S. residents, due to lingering effects of the pandemic on international travel.
The report also showed significant ethnic diversity among Las Vegas tourists. Around 17 percent of visitors were African American, double the percentage in 2019. Hispanic/Latino tourists accounted for 19 percent of visitation, up from 11 percent in 2019.
The report showed a continued drag on Las Vegas convention business due to the pandemic. In 2019, around 6.6 million attended a convention or trade show in the city. That number dropped to 1.7 million in 2020, rebounding to 2.2 million in 2021.
However, the head of the convention bureau said there is reason for optimism going forward. Steve Hill, president and CEO of the LVCVA, said in a speech last week at the West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center that the bureau expects ls Vegas trade show business to be fully back to pre-pandemic levels in 2023.
“During the pandemic, Las Vegas, as a city, added about 3 million square feet of convention space,” Hill said, according to the Las Vegas Sun. “We went from 11 million to 14 million square feet, which is going to be really helpful in getting us back to where we were before the pandemic.
“When we came into the pandemic, we were at capacity as far as meeting and conventions space. We now have room to grow, so we have the capacity to move past that (2019) 6.6 million number. We have work to do in order to do that, but it’s an opportunity for the city.”
Tim McLucas of Questex Hospitality, which puts on the Bar & Restaurant Expo (formerly the Nightclub & Bar Show), told the Sun about 9,000 people were expected to attend last week’s show. “Companies phoned us and said they were devastated that the show got canceled during Covid in 2020,” McLucas said. “We were always 100 percent focused on getting back to Las Vegas. It’s been our home for so many years. We love to support the local infrastructure here. It’s really difficult to find a destination that checks all the boxes for us, but Vegas does that.
The Bar & Restaurant Expo is part of the Las Vegas Food & Beverage Industry Week, a combination of four trade shows—the bar expo is joined by the Pizza Expo, SIAL America and the World Tea Conference + Expo.
“Having all four of these shows makes for a big week in Las Vegas,” Hill said. “Everyone has gone through a tough couple of years. It’s just great to have everyone back this week.”
