The Tourism Economy of Las Vegas

In recent years, the city has seen a robust recovery from the pandemic downturn, with visitor volumes nearing all-time highs and visitor spending hitting record levels.

This report provides a factual, data-led overview of Las Vegas’s tourism economy, covering annual visitation and spending, contributions to GDP, employment impacts, broader local effects, and the influence on public finances.

Visitor Numbers and Spending

Las Vegas attracts tens of millions of visitors each year. Annual visitation surpassed 40 million in 2023, rebounding close to pre-pandemic peaks. The COVID-19 shock in 2020 cut travel to the city drastically, but tourism has since recovered in full force.

Key visitor volume figures include:

• 2019 (pre-pandemic peak): 42.5 million visitors.
• 2020 (pandemic low): 19.0 million visitors.
• 2022 (recovery phase): 38.8 million visitors.
• 2023: 40.8 million visitors (up 5.2% from 2022).
• 2024: 41.7 million visitors (nearly back to the 2019 level).

Along with the visitor counts, tourist spending in Las Vegas has reached unprecedented heights. In 2022, visitors spent about $44.9 billion in the Las Vegas area, exceeding pre-pandemic levels.

This was followed by a new record of roughly $51.5 billion in visitor spending in 2023, a 14.7% jump over 2022. In other words, fewer visitors are spending far more per trip than in the past – the average Las Vegas visitor’s expenditure hit an all-time high (over $1,150 per person in 2022).

Elevated hotel rates, entertainment prices, and other costs have driven per-visitor spending up by more than 50% compared to 2019. Overall, total visitor expenditures in 2023 were nearly 40% higher than pre-pandemic outlays in 2019 , reflecting Las Vegas’s strong demand and pricing power in the tourism market.

Contribution to GDP and Economic Output

Tourism is the engine of Nevada’s economy, particularly in Southern Nevada (Las Vegas and vicinity). By comprehensive measures, travel and tourism account for about one-third of Nevada’s entire GDP.

In 2024, for example, the industry’s total economic impact was estimated at $98 billion – roughly 37% of the state’s gross domestic product when including direct, indirect, and induced effects.

In the Las Vegas region specifically, visitor spending generated about $79.3 billion in overall economic output in 2022, which is on the order of half of Southern Nevada’s gross economic output for that year.

Even looking at direct contributions alone (excluding multipliers), Nevada’s economy is far more tourism-dependent than the U.S. average – tourism has been estimated at roughly 12.5% of Nevada’s state GDP, compared to about 3% of GDP for the country as a whole.

In short, Las Vegas’s tourism economy underpins a disproportionate share of Nevada’s economic activity, underscoring the state’s unique reliance on this sector.

Employment and Jobs Impact

Tourism and hospitality are the backbone of employment in Las Vegas. The leisure and hospitality sector is the largest employer in the region, and a substantial portion of the workforce is tied to serving visitors.

In Southern Nevada, roughly one out of every five workers is employed directly in tourism. In 2022, an estimated 21.9% of the region’s employment was in tourism-related jobs (e.g. hotels, casinos, restaurants, entertainment).

By 2024 this share had grown to about 22.6%, reflecting continued job gains as visitation grew.

When accounting for the broader ripple effects, the total employment supported by tourism is even larger. Suppliers, contractors, and other businesses that benefit from visitor spending add another layer of jobs, as do those supported by tourism workers spending their incomes locally.

Including indirect and induced jobs, tourism supported approximately 385,000 jobs in Southern Nevada as of 2024. Statewide, the industry’s impact was about 436,600 total jobs in 2024 (roughly 28% of all employment in Nevada) when factoring in multiplier effects.

In other words, over a quarter of Nevada’s workforce is sustained by the tourism economy. This makes tourism not only the state’s largest employer but also a critical source of livelihoods across skill levels – from front-line service roles to management and supplier industries.

Notably, the tourism sector also accounted for about 20% of all wages paid in the Las Vegas region directly, and nearly 30% when including secondary effects , highlighting its significance in the area’s income base.

Broader Local Economic Impacts

The influence of Las Vegas’s tourism extends well beyond the Strip’s resort corridors, benefiting a wide array of local businesses and communities. The spending by visitors circulates through the local economy in multiple ways.

Resorts and casinos procure millions of dollars in goods and services from local vendors – from food and beverage suppliers to logistics, professional services, and maintenance contractors. This means that many small businesses in the region thrive by serving the tourism supply chain.

A local food distributor, for instance, might have major casino hotels as clients, or an event production company might supply convention shows. These indirect links funnel visitor dollars into sectors like wholesale trade, transportation, and other services that support the tourism infrastructure.

Moreover, the household spending of tourism industry employees creates additional ripple effects in the community. Las Vegas’s leisure and hospitality sector employs hundreds of thousands of workers, and those employees spend their wages locally on housing, groceries, retail, and services.

According to industry analyses, this cycle of employee spending supports neighborhood restaurants, shops, salons, dry cleaners and other everyday businesses across the community.

In essence, the tourism boom fuels a broad local ecosystem: everything from taxi and ride-share drivers, to construction firms (building new attractions and hotels), to entertainment production crews, and even healthcare and education (funded by tax revenue from tourism) are touched by the visitor economy.

This far-reaching multiplier effect means that the prosperity of Las Vegas’s small business sector and its overall local economy are closely intertwined with tourism. When visitor numbers and spending rise, the positive impacts cascade across the region – and conversely, a downturn in tourism would be felt well beyond the casinos.

Fiscal Contributions and Public Revenue

Tourism doesn’t just generate private-sector revenue – it is also vital to government finances in Nevada and Las Vegas. The taxes and fees paid by tourists and the resort industry form a major part of public budgets, enabling Nevada to maintain relatively low tax rates on residents.

At the state level, tourism is the largest single source of tax revenue. In 2024, the industry paid roughly $2.4 billion in industry-specific taxes and fees (including gaming taxes, hotel room taxes, live entertainment taxes, etc.), more than any other industry.

These tourism-related taxes accounted for about 34% of Nevada’s entire General Fund revenue in that fiscal year – over one-third of the state’s budget is effectively funded by tourism.

This reliance has allowed Nevada to forgo a state income tax; in fact, analysts estimate that the tourism industry’s contributions reduce the tax burden on each Nevada household by approximately $3,000 per year. Without Las Vegas’s visitors and the taxes they generate, residents would likely face significantly higher taxes or reduced public services.

Local governments and agencies also benefit directly from tourist-driven revenue. A prime example is the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), which is funded by a portion of hotel room taxes. In FY2024, the LVCVA collected a record $382.7 million in room tax revenues , an 8% increase over the prior year, reflecting high hotel occupancy and rates.

These funds are reinvested into marketing the destination, operating the convention center, and expanding tourism infrastructure – activities that further bolster the economy.

Additionally, Clark County levies a 13.38% transient lodging tax on Strip resorts (slightly lower rates off-Strip) , which helps finance projects like schools, transportation, and even the stadium used by the NFL’s Raiders.

In total, tourism-related taxes and fees generated by Las Vegas visitors are crucial for city and state budgets, supporting everything from public safety and roads to education and diversified economic development.

The health of Nevada’s public finances is thus closely linked to the health of Las Vegas tourism. During boom years, surging gaming and hotel tax revenues fill government coffers, while in downturns (such as 2020) the shortfall in tourism revenue can create budget stress for state and local authorities.

Global Position of Las Vegas Tourism

Las Vegas holds a prominent position in the global tourism landscape, particularly as an entertainment and convention capital. While the vast majority of Las Vegas visitors are domestic U.S. travelers, the city also draws millions of international tourists and is a marquee destination for high-profile global events.

In 2023, about 4.6 million international visitors came to Las Vegas, accounting for roughly 11% of the total visitation that year. These overseas visitors are especially economically significant: on average they spend more per trip than domestic tourists.

In fact, international tourists contributed an estimated $13.2 billion in 2023 – roughly 26% of all visitor spending – underscoring their outsized impact on the city’s tourism receipts. Canada and Mexico are top sources of foreign visitors, but Las Vegas also attracts travelers from Europe, Asia, Australia and beyond, many drawn by its global reputation for gaming, nightlife, and spectacle.

On the convention side, Las Vegas routinely ranks among the world’s top trade show and meeting destinations, hosting major international events such as CES (Consumer Electronics Show), one of the largest tech conventions globally.

The city’s enormous hotel capacity (150,000+ rooms) and specialized venues allow it to compete with the likes of Orlando and Paris for hosting the biggest conferences. Global sporting and entertainment events have further elevated Las Vegas’s profile on the world stage.

In November 2023, the city hosted the inaugural Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix, which drew international audiences and an influx of high-spending visitors.

Las Vegas is also set to host the Super Bowl in 2024, another indication of its emergence as a world-class events city. These events generate significant tourism dollars and media exposure, reinforcing Las Vegas’s brand as the “Entertainment Capital of the World.”

Although Las Vegas is not the world’s most visited city by volume (it attracts fewer international tourists than destinations like Paris or Bangkok), it punches above its weight in economic terms. The annual tourism spending in Las Vegas (over $50 billion in recent years) is among the highest of any single city.

In effect, Las Vegas is one of the globe’s leading tourism economies by revenue, thanks to its unique mix of gaming, entertainment and luxury hospitality. This global standing makes the city a focal point for travel industry investment and a barometer for trends in leisure and business travel.

The continued ability of Las Vegas to draw visitors from around the country and the world – and to induce them to spend freely – underpins not only the local economy, but also cements its reputation as a flagship destination in the worldwide tourism market.

Conclusion

In summary, the tourism economy of Las Vegas is a cornerstone of both the city’s prosperity and Nevada’s overall economic vitality. By the numbers, tens of millions of visitors pour into Las Vegas each year, spending tens of billions of dollars on lodging, entertainment, dining, and gaming.

This translates into a major share of GDP, a huge employment base, and substantial tax revenues that fund public services. Moreover, the impact of tourism reverberates beyond the Strip, supporting local businesses and communities across Southern Nevada.

Las Vegas’s successful tourism model – built on constant innovation in hospitality and attractions – has positioned it as an industry leader globally, albeit one sensitive to economic cycles and external events.

Going forward, the city’s dependence on tourism also means that economic diversification and sustainable growth remain key topics, but for now, the latest data affirm that Las Vegas’s fortunes are inextricably tied to the strength of its tourism sector.

As long as visitors continue to arrive in large numbers and open their wallets, Las Vegas will remain a vibrant engine of economic activity for Nevada.