Las Vegas ended 2025 with a clearer split between the struggling Strip and stronger performance in parts of Clark County, while air travel also softened. Visitor counts fell, Strip gaming revenue edged higher by a sliver, and industry analysts pointed to a year shaped by economic disruption, a prolonged federal government shutdown and declines in international visitation. At the same time, convention activity held up enough for tourism officials to emphasize adaptability and continued event strength as the city planned for 2026.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority’s chief executive, Steve Hill, said the year reflected one of the more complex operating environments the city had navigated outside of the pandemic. Hill said the events calendar remained strong and convention demand stayed steady even as other parts of the economy and travel patterns hit tourism. In his statement, Hill also pointed to how Las Vegas was viewed as overpriced during the period when tourism dropped during the summer.
The visitor totals underline the broader slowdown. Las Vegas drew more than 38.5 million visitors in 2025, according to the released statistics, which put the annual count down 7.5% from 2024 and as the lowest since 2021. The city also experienced 12 consecutive monthly declines throughout the year, including double-digit drops in February, June and July.
December’s visitor decline stood out even against the backdrop of major events during the month. The visitor count fell 9% in December to just under 3.1 million, despite Las Vegas hosting the sold-out National Finals Rodeo over more than 10 days, staging two Raiders home games, and holding the Las Vegas Bowl on New Year’s Eve. Gaming and lodging performance also weakened by some key measures: conventions and meetings drew just under 6 million attendees, nearly matching 2024, but average daily Strip room rates dropped almost 5% to less than $200 a night, Strip occupancy fell 3%, and RevPar fell 8% to $163.52.
Strip gaming revenue for the year showed a different kind of weakness—more gradual than the tourism decline, but still small and uneven. The Gaming Control Board said the Strip collected $8.8 billion in gaming revenue in 2025, finishing ahead of 2024 by less than $3 million, a 0.03% increase. For December alone, baccarat performed notably worse, with revenue falling almost 21% to $156.7 million, though baccarat for all of 2025 totaled $1.4 billion and rose 3.4% as a share of the broader Strip total.
Analysts highlighted that the poor month was more consistent with expectations than surprising to investors, while also looking ahead to where momentum might return. Truist Securities gaming analyst Barry Jonas said December’s results were not a surprise to the investment community, which had already understood Las Vegas’ yearlong challenges. Macquarie Securities gaming analyst Chad Beynon said he expects “softness from the international and leisure customer will persist this year.” Citizens Bank gaming analyst Jordan Bender wrote that New Year’s Eve landing on a Wednesday hurt end-of-year Strip gaming results and said January and the rest of the 2026 first quarter were expected to provide a bounce for Strip resorts.
Outside the Strip, Clark County’s casino markets produced more of the year’s positive momentum, with locals and non-Strip areas posting gains. The locals market emerged as the “bright spot” in Southern Nevada as casinos in areas dominated by operators outside the Strip—including Red Rock Resorts and Boyd Gaming—helped offset declines at Strip properties. Bender said fourth-quarter gaming revenue in the locals market was a record total, backed by those dominant operators.
For 2025, the Gaming Control Board figures cited in the release showed downtown gaming revenue growing 2.1% to $951.2 million, North Las Vegas revenue increasing 4.6% to $298 million, and Laughlin revenue up 2.4% to $493.6 million. The report also cited a 3.8% gain for Boulder Strip casinos to $996 million and a 1.2% increase in the unincorporated areas of Clark County to $1.9 billion. Clark County’s combined casino gaming revenue reached $13.7 billion in 2025, nearly 87% of the state’s total.
Northern Nevada also finished the year on a positive note, with Washoe County casinos combined revenue up 3.4% to just under $1.1 billion. Reno led the market with $786.2 million, up 3.6%, while Sparks casinos collected $182.2 million, up 2.6%. South Lake Tahoe casinos ended 2025 with $247.6 million in gaming revenue, up 1.5%.
Travel figures for Las Vegas added another sign that demand was weaker than in 2024, even as aviation officials emphasized connectivity and improvements at the airport. Harry Reid International Airport experienced 11 straight monthly declines in passenger volume during 2025, ending a two-year run of record-setting totals. The Clark County Department of Aviation said Thursday the airport served just under 55 million passengers in 2025, compared with the record 58.4 million in 2024, a 6% drop. December’s passenger volume declined 10.3% and followed November’s 9.6% decrease.
International passenger volume, which had returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2024, fell 7% to more than 3.4 million in 2025, with a 22% decline in December described as the fourth consecutive monthly double-digit drop. The figures attributed the weakness in part to declines by the airport’s two largest Canadian air carriers, Air Canada and WestJet, each seeing more than 20% passenger declines in 2025. In a statement, aviation officials did not comment directly on the reasons for the declines but highlighted Las Vegas’ connectivity to more than 170 markets and improvements at the airport for safety, accessibility and passenger experience.
Hill said gaming and tourism leaders were ready to rebound in 2026, pointing to Las Vegas’ scale and pipeline of events. He said the market has more than 150,000 hotel rooms and said the Las Vegas Convention Center completed a remodel last year. Hill said the center has several trade shows lined up with a combined 1.2 million attendees, including CONEXPO, a large-scale construction industry conference and exposition, adding that the city had to remain nimble as conditions evolved.