“[I]t became clear last week that Canadians are avoiding Las Vegas”
The Nevada Independent released a report detailing that since Donald Trump started his trade war with Canada, direct routes between the largest Canadian cities and Las Vegas saw some of the largest declines of any air carrier, international or domestic, when compared with February 2024. Gaming revenue has also taken a hit, down almost 14% compared to last year.
Canada is Nevada’s largest trade partner and 1.4 million Canadians account for about a third of all international travelers to Las Vegas. Further, an independent study estimates that the cumulative impact of Trump’s tariffs will result in an average effective pay cut of $3,800 for U.S. households.
Read more below:
Nevada Independent: Whoa Canada. Slowdown in north of the border visitation to Las Vegas worries analysts
Key points:
- Canadian Gaming Association CEO Paul Burns, who helped establish the organization in 2005, isn’t prone to brash comments. In an interview with The Nevada Independent last month, he warned that the reaction by Canadian citizens to the festering trade war with the U.S. would get worse before it gets better.
- That warning came to pass last week after the release of passenger totals by the main airlines that service Harry Reid International Airport with direct routes between the largest Canadian cities and Las Vegas. They saw some of the largest declines of any air carrier, international or domestic, when compared with February 2024.
- Burns warned that a reluctance to visit the U.S. may keep Canadians from attending the Global Gaming Expo (G2E), the industry’s largest trade show, which is scheduled for Oct. 6-9 in Las Vegas at The Venetian Expo.
- He said Canadians are often the largest foreign delegation at G2E.
- The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) does not break out the number of international visitors monthly. However, the agency, in response to an emailed question about Canadian visitation, cited Global City Travel. According to the figure, Canada is the top international market for Las Vegas, with 1.4 million visitors in 2023, followed by Mexico.
- Maloney said the AGA is monitoring “developments with all our global partners throughout the gaming industry, particularly as it relates to international inbound visitation to key U.S. gaming destinations such as Las Vegas.”
- However, it became clear last week that Canadians are avoiding Las Vegas. The number of international passengers traveling to Las Vegas fell 3 percent in March, according to the Clark County Department of Aviation’s monthly passenger report.
- Air Canada saw a 5 percent drop to 51,600 passengers. WestJet, Reid’s busiest Canadian air carrier, experienced a 17 percent decline to 55,500 passengers. Flair, a low-cost carrier out of Edmonton, had the largest decrease with 11,700 passengers, down 55 percent.
- A spokesperson for WestJet told Casino.org the airline has not eliminated routes to Las Vegas. However, according to PaxNews, Air Canada reduced capacity on March flights to Las Vegas, as well as Florida and Arizona, citing the ongoing tariff dispute with the U.S.
- Despite optimistic commentary from Strip resort operators during their most recent quarterly earnings conference calls, much has changed in the U.S. economy concerning travel, and Citizens Bank gaming analyst Jordan Bender wrote in a research note Monday that February’s downtown may have carried over into March.
- “We are seeing data points highlighting some softening across certain areas of inbound visitation,” Bender wrote. “Airlines have noted [that] government travel is weak as a result of workforce cuts,” which he said could hurt Las Vegas’ convention business.
- Gaming revenue at Las Vegas Boulevard casinos fell almost 14 percent to $690.3 million in the month, compared to February 2024’s $800.6 million.
- Las Vegas visitation fell 12 percent to just under 3 million in the month, according to the LVCVA. Within that total, convention attendance was off 19.5 percent to 615,000 as several trade shows rotated out to other markets.
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