Tourists return to Las Vegas despite soaring prices that drove visitors away

The city also welcomed 2.7% more visitors in July compared with the same month last year, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA). 

That marks a partial recovery after visitation fell 12% in July 2025.

Vegas' signs of life come amid frustration from tourists over the rising cost of visiting the city.

A $26 minibar bottle of water at Aria, for example, sparked social media outrage in 2025 after a guest's complaint was published by travel blog "View from the Wing" and picked up by The Las Vegas Review-Journal. 

It became a symbol of complaints that visitors were being nickel-and-dimed in Vegas.

The city has yet to fully recover to its pre-pandemic tourism levels.

In 2025, Las Vegas welcomed 38.5 million visitors, down 7.5% from 2024, according to the LVCVA. Visitor spending fell to $50.8 billion that year, down from $55.1 billion in 2024, according to a report presented to the LVCVA board.

LVCVA President and CEO Steve Hill told the Nevada Economic Forum earlier this month that annual visitor volume remains about 10% below the 42.5 million visitors recorded in 2019.

One major factor is the decline in Canadian travelers, historically Las Vegas' largest international market. 

Canadian visitation is down about 30% from 2019 levels, Hill said, while airfare to and from Las Vegas has climbed more than 20% in recent months, according to reports.

Las Vegas visitors are also getting wealthier, and fewer of them are in their 20s.

In 2025, 75% of visitors earned $100,000 or more, according to the LVCVA, and 44% earned $150,000 or more, News 3 Las Vegas reported. 

Meanwhile, visitation among tourists ages 21 to 29 has fallen more than 10% since 2022, according to the LVCVA.

Live entertainment remains another major draw.

The Sphere grossed $379 million on 1.7 million tickets sold in 2025, making it the world's highest-grossing arena for the year, according to Pollstar data reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Jessica Mekles of Fox News Digital contributed reporting.