Spending By Las Vegas Tourists In 2022 Breaks Annual Records

Written By Marc Meltzer on April 18, 2023

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) has just published its 2022 report on the economic impact of the tourism industry in Southern Nevada. Simply put, this report details how tourists spent their money in Las Vegas the previous year.

This report, in contrast to the Visitor Profile, does not delve deeply into Nevada casino gambling expenditure. It only provides gaming data indicating that visitors allocated 21.4% of their total budget to gambling. Though this information differs from the recent Visitor Profile, there is some overlapping data in both. The report also presents a public view of the overall expenditure of visitors on hotel rooms, dining, shopping, sports, and more.

The financials of Las Vegas in 2022 warrant attention, as the tourism industry continued to bounce back from the financial blow dealt by the Covid-19 pandemic.

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

Tourism began to revive in Las Vegas towards the end of 2021, and continued into 2022 as business travelers started coming back for conventions and meetings.

Las Vegas tourist spending breaks records

The LVCVA report indicated that visitor spending in Las Vegas hit a record $44.9 billion in 2022, surpassing pre-pandemic expenditure levels.

In 2022, visitors spent 24.4% more than they did in the prior year and 21.8% more than they did in 2019.

Las Vegas’ total economic output has exceeded that of 2019 – the year before COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the closure of Las Vegas casinos. As per the report, in 2022, total visitor spending hit a record $79.3 billion. This represents a 24.7% increase from the last complete pre-pandemic year’s record.

This number holds significance as it approximates half of the gross economic output of Southern Nevada.

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

“These results strongly affirm the significant impact of our joint efforts with our resort partners to promote this destination. We take immense pride in our city and industry, and we know that the forthcoming attractions in the destination will contribute to our success.”

One could predict that personal expenditure also increased compared to previous years. The average spending per person in Las Vegas hit a record high of $1,156 last year. This represented a 3.3% rise from 2021 and a significant 10.1% surge from 2019.

Individual spending data is also encouraging

In 2022, Southern Nevada welcomed 38.8 million visitors, a drop by 3.7 million compared to 2019. Despite the decrease in visitor numbers, the total spending rose by 33.4% compared to 2019.

The Chief Marketing Officer of the LVCVA, Kate Wik, stated:

Emerging from the pandemic, our consumer research indicated the ideal time to tap into the accumulated travel demand. We are excited not only about the robust resurgence in visitation but also about the substantial contribution our visitors are making to our state’s economy.

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

Moreover, the number of people attending shows in 2022 was less compared to 2019. Nonetheless, the attendees spent an additional 10.1% on the experience.

In 2022, the breakdown of visitor spending budgets is as follows: