What can Nevadans expect to see from Trump’s tariffs?
International visitation to Las Vegas had already dropped 12 percent in February. But was that the result of rhetoric from the Trump Administration, which was critical of both Canada and Mexico?
Canadians are the number one international visitor to Las Vegas, said Andrew Woods, director of UNLV’s Center for Economic Research, with Mexico second or third. Was the drop in their numbers because Las Vegas had the Super Bowl in 2024 but not in 2025?
Andrew Woods said it’s too early to decipher the February numbers. For this summer, though, he said surveys say people still want to travel.
“Consumers are just trying to find ways that they can control their costs, pay down debt, control debt with all the uncertainty out there,” he said. “As economists … we’re concerned about: where does this start to drag on purchases? Do they come to Vegas? Or do they come to Vegas and spend one night? Do they not go to a show? Not eat out as much?”
Woods said he’ll be watching carefully, as roughly one in three Las Vegas jobs are tied to the hospitality industry, directly and indirectly.
“We certainly think this year is going to be slower than it was the last couple years,” he said. “And we watching these jobs numbers in the employment market closely to kind of get a sense of what’s this going to look like six months from now.”