“It’s really important to put into perspective how important leisure and hospitality are to our economy,” Andrew Woods, the director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, told The Daily Upside. “Here in Clark County, it’s about one in four jobs, and a third of GDP.”

Last year ended on an optimistic note. The city drew 41.6 million visitors, a 2.1% increase that brought it ever so close to pre-pandemic levels. International arrivals at Harry Reid International Airport, the primary flight hub for the Las Vegas Valley, rose 14% year-over-year to 2.7 million (still trailing the 3.8 million in 2019). This helped Nevada set a record for annual casino revenue for the fourth year in a row, with nearly $16 billion.

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