Visitors to Las Vegas, Nevada, dropped over seven percent in 2025 from the previous year, but despite the gloomy numbers, many resort operators believe the hospitality industry in Sin City is poised for a resurgence in 2026.
Sin City Slowdown
Ever since the global pandemic struck and temporarily shuttered many hotels and casinos in Las Vegas, tourism has rebounded, showing increases year after year. However, that trend was broken in 2025 when Glitter Gulch saw several million fewer visitors.
Many blame the malaise on greedy hotel operators who levy exorbitant resort fees on top of the lodging fee, while restaurant prices have also skyrocketed. The perception is that the Strip hotels are now catering to a wealthier clientele at the expense of their traditional customer base.
Gambling Expansion Impacts Las Vegas
Others point to the increasing number of casinos and the availability of sports betting throughout the nation, which used to be the exclusive province of Las Vegas and the surrounding area. Perhaps it is a combination of all the above, but what we do know is that only 35.4 million tourists visited the nation’s gambling mecca in the first 11 months of 2025, a 7.4% drop from the previous year, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA).
The LVCVA alluded to the decline in international travel and some of the federal barriers that are affecting foreign visitors, like the $250 Visa Integrity Fee for residents of certain countries when they visit the USA.
“Las Vegas is often a reflection of the broader U.S. economy,” LVCVA wrote to The Center Square. “Because we operate at high volume across every consumer segment, shifts in spending and behavior tend to surface here first.”
Market Correction
If there was one shining example of a C-suite executive publicly taking responsibility for his company’s failures to “read the room” and assess the temperature of the economy, it was MGM’s CEO Bill Hornbuckle. During an earnings call at the end of October, Hornbuckle noted that MGM’s Strip earnings plummeted from $731 million in 2024 to $601 in 2025.
“Shame On Us”: Hornbuckle’s Candid Remarks
Hornbuckle cited the “infamous bottle of water” in which a guest posted the $26 price of a water bottle at the ARIA’s minibar, one of MGM’s 14 Las Vegas portfolio resorts, which run the gamut from budget to luxury.
Hornbuckle was quite candid when he said, “Shame on us,” followed by, “We should have been more sensitive to the overall experience at a place like Excalibur,” where someone paid $12 for a Starbucks coffee.
“You can’t have a $29 room and a $12 coffee. And so we’ve gone through the organization. We think, we hope, we believe, and we’ve price-corrected,” he said.
“We lost control of the narrative over the summer,” Hornbuckle added. “I think we would all agree to that in hindsight.”
MGM has already begun scrutinizing its pricing, while industry insiders believe tourism in 2026 will prove to be much better, especially with worldwide sporting events coming to Las Vegas like WrestleMania 42, the 2026 World Cup, and the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Mark Wahlberg On Las Vegas And Formula 1
Speaking of the latter, actor Mark Wahlberg, born and raised outside of Boston but now a Las Vegas resident, applauded his city hosting the F1 event that has become hugely popular.
“I think people are really starting to gravitate towards it,” Wahlberg said. “It’s a bit of a slow build, because it’s not the most popular sport in America. But I think locals are even starting to appreciate it.
“I think it will continue to grow. It’s nice to see every year; it’s got a nice, slow build. Which I think is going to make it a lot more sustainable,” he added.
