A preliminary economic impact report released on Jan. 24 found that visitors during Formula One week spent $561 million.

Total taxable sales for the county have grown since the pandemic faster than the pace of inflation, economists said. Tax receipts in November 2023 were 68 percent higher than November 2016 — the year in which visitor volume peaked for the region at nearly 43 million visitors. Meanwhile, inflation rose about 17 percent in that same period, Andrew Woods, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at UNLV, said.

That suggests fewer visitors contributed to the higher sales tax rates, all while the region’s population grew. It’s a connection that can also be seen in the growing average daily room rates shown in monthly visitation reports, despite a stagnating visitor volume.

“This is in line with (the trend that) consumers are less sensitive to prices than they have in the past,” Woods said. “That’s been a pretty steady trend and partly why inflation has been as sticky as it’s been. As much as we don’t want to pay higher prices, we’re paying higher prices and we’re still buying things.”

Aguero and Woods said that higher spending trends typically suggest a pullback in consumer spending is coming. And though the taxable sales are higher for the county overall, Woods and Aguero both noted that individual businesses may not have could have seen record sales levels of their own.

“Just because people are paying more in hotel rooms, it may not spill over into the entire valley,” Woods said.

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“Transparency is a big issue for the consumer,” said Stephen Miller, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. “If you go way back in time, when the resort fee was first introduced, people were finding that out when they checked in. That created all kinds of angst.”

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After the final game day point, the Super Bowl is expected to leave behind an economic impact of around $600 million, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. That impact stretches far beyond the Las Vegas Strip, according to UNLV Director of Business and Economic Research Stephen Miller.

“The market is working, and in fact, what’s happening is it’s affecting the Air BNBs as well,” Miller said inside his office, speaking of industries benefitting from the increased attention. “Uber is a market-driven price, so, depending on the demand, the price can go way up.”

He points to the large draw Super Bowl weekend already has in Southern Nevada without hosting responsibilities that typically stimulate the Clark County economy annually. More stimulation is expected this year, which Miller says may be seen in wages to the average resident.

“What’s taxed in Vegas, stays in Vegas,” Miller said. “You have people that are actually doing the jobs in the supply chain. They get paid, and if they live here in Vegas, then they spend money in Vegas.”

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To show how water demand will increase, the authority works alongside UNLV’s Center for Business and Economic Research to project how many people may move into its service area by 2070.

The latest numbers show that Clark County’s population will grow to 3.43 million, up from 2.37 million in 2024. More Nevadans means more demand for water, which the water authority is anticipating in planning conservation measures, authority spokesperson Bronson Mack said.

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“It’s a story that Andrew Woods, director of UNLV’s Center for Business and Economic Research, knows well: which businesses won and which lost during Formula One?

“It seems like a little bit of a tale of two different cities in terms of success or not,” Woods said during a virtual interview.”

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“We speak to economic expert Andrew Woods on where things stand with the resort/casino industry, and where it goes in the future.”

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“Despite an increase in automation or AI, some consumers will place a premium on human interaction or service, and some will shirk certain technologies because of security risks—like the major cyberattacks that took place at leisure and hospitality institutions in Las Vegas this year, said Andrew Woods, director of UNLV’s Center for Business and Economic Research.

“The idea that we’re going to get rid of all human workers, I think, is overblown,” he said.

What’s important to note, as well, is that AI may disrupt jobs—but it’s not going to destroy them, Woods said, citing similar technological advancements over the years that have not overrun the workforce.”

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“In its latest quarterly Southern Nevada Business Confidence Index, UNLV’s Center for Business and Economic Research found a significant drop in local businesses’ confidence in the economy — from an index rating of 116 in the third quarter to 88 in the fourth quarter, suggesting “that respondents, on average, feel overall more negative than positive” about certain components of the economy, including profits and hiring.”

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“For 2024, I think steady as she goes in terms of how businesses continue to make rational choices in a world where interest rates and the cost of doing business, the cost of money, stay high for the foreseeable future,” said Andrew Woods, director, UNLV Center for Business & Economic Research. “We’ve been talking about this for over a year and we don’t see a recession.”

Woods expects 2024 to be interesting, especially if interest rates do what they’re supposed to do and cool demand without tipping the economy into a recession. As money and credit conditions become tighter, “We’re going to find out quickly, as Warren Buffet famously said, ‘Who’s swimming naked as the tide goes out.’ We’ll find out which businesses don’t have as sound of books or profitability as they seem to put out there to the public.”

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“Professional sports have indeed provided a boost to the Las Vegas economy. But, as in the case of F1, is the economic benefit worth the price locals have to pay?

We turn to the director of UNLV’s Center for Business and Economic Research for answers, in this edition of FOX5 Experts.

We estimated about $1.8 billion, and that was just last year, so we see it growing, but we also have questions, just like the public does, about, you know, how much of this can you quantify, what assumptions are being made about that impact,” said Andrew Woods, the director of the program.”

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