Las Vegas Tourism Industry Impact Hits Record $79.3 Billion in 2022

The 2022 Economic Impact Of Southern Nevada Tourism Industry report, detailing last year’s tourist spending habits in Las Vegas, was recently published by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA).

This report, unlike the Visitor Profile, doesn’t examine extensive Nevada casino gambling expenditure. The only gaming data provided in this report indicates that visitors allocated 21.4% of their total budget towards gambling. This information varies from the recent Visitor Profile, although there is some overlapping information in both. The report provides a public overview of visitors’ total spending on hotel rooms, dining, shopping, sports, and other activities.

Examining Las Vegas’ financials for the year 2022 is crucial as the tourism industry continues its recovery from the financial effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Approximately 21.9% of regional employment in Southern Nevada was directly attributed to the tourism industry. This industry also contributed to 20.2% of the area’s total wage earnings.

Tourism began to make a comeback in Las Vegas towards the end of 2021, a trend that persisted into 2022 with the return of business travelers for conventions and meetings.

Las Vegas tourist spending breaks records

The LVCVA report states that visitor spending in Las Vegas reached a record high of $44.9 billion in 2022, surpassing pre-pandemic expenditures.

In 2022, visitor spending increased by 24.4% compared to the previous year and was 21.8% higher than in 2019.

Las Vegas’s total economic output has exceeded its 2019 levels, prior to the forced shutdowns of casinos due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A report reveals that total visitor spending in 2022 hit a new high at $79.3 billion. This represents a significant increment of 24.7% from the last complete year before the pandemic.

This number is significant because it equates to approximately half of Southern Nevada’s total economic output.

The CEO and president of the LVCVA, Steve Hill, stated:

The outcomes clearly demonstrate the significant impact our collaborative efforts with resort partners in promoting this destination have on our community. We take pride in our city and its industry, and are confident that future attractions in the location will further contribute to its success.

As expected, personal expenditure also saw an increase from past years. In the last year, the spending per person in Las Vegas reached a record peak of $1,156. This marked a 3.3% rise from 2021 and a 10.1% surge from 2019.

Individual spending data is also encouraging

In 2022, Southern Nevada welcomed 38.8 million visitors, a figure that was down by 3.7 million from 2019. Despite the decrease in visitor numbers, total spending saw a significant increase of 33.4% compared to 2019.

The LVCVA’s Chief Marketing Officer, Kate Wik, stated:

Emerging from the pandemic, our consumer research indicated an ideal opportunity to leverage the accumulated travel demand. We are excited to witness not just a robust resurgence in visitation but also the substantial contribution our visitors make to our state’s economy.

Compared to 2019, visitor spending rose in all categories except sightseeing. This represented a new trend in visitor expenditure last year relative to pre-pandemic levels.

Additionally, the number of people who attended shows in 2022 decreased compared to 2019. Nonetheless, the spending of those who did attend increased by 10.1% on their overall experience.

In general, the distribution of visitor spending budgets in 2022 is as follows:

• Gambling: 21.4%
• Shopping: 16.9%
• Hotel rooms: 14.7%
• Local transportation: 12%
• Food and Beverage: 11.7%
• Entertainment: 10.1%
• Sight Seeing: 1.2%

In 2022, visitors to the Southern Nevada region allocated 11.9% of their overall budgets to miscellaneous expenditures.