this post was submitted on 05 Aug 2025
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Go read about how empty Las Vegas is and all the people scratching their heads wondering why no one wants to come. Personally, I think the people who say they don't know are lying or stupid.
I just did a YouTube search for 'Las Vegas dead' and found a video of a guy highlighting how dead it is, and my god the comments are all to do with stuff like price gouging cited as the reason why... Someone even suggested it's because they're all going LA instead. Nobody is mentioning the lack of foreign tourists... Crazy stuff.
Honestly, 2 things can be true. Vegas has gouged consumers excessively in recent years. Fees for parking, increased resort fees, fewer comps for gamblers while at the same time removing anything remotely affordable like buffets. They have not helped themselves in attracting domestic visitors, and the regime isn't helping with foreign visitors. It might get ugly out there really soon, and frankly, a lot of it was self inflicted by greedy corporations.
That's crazy, with the reportedly large ICE presence in LA, I'm sure domestic tourism is even down.
I've heard the same about the Disney parks, where people are wondering why it's not as crowded as usual.
I didn't even think of the ICE situation in LA but you're right; suggesting that's where the tourists are just shows a lack of awareness around that whole situation too, which is just as insane.
In this economy I don't get how people spurge on Disney park. If I was a regular Disney park visitor, I would probably try another cheaper one if I could still afford the annual trip. But I will certainly not try the Disney park from another continent.
Even if it was cheaper to go to another continent, that means dealing with US customs and/or ICE on the way back for US citizens. With due process going out the window, that's even unsafe.
I mean as non-USA tourists.
I understand, I was expanding your statement to emphasize the fact that nobody is safe crossing into the US anymore.
If it's such a ghost town why is media reporting that there has only been about an 11% decline? It seems bigger than that....right?
Crazy is getting reality from one youtube video
Just as well that it's just you misrepresenting what was said then isn't it.
Partly #2, there is a pretty decent news blackout for the things they don't want you to hear. Right-wing news shows nothing of it, left-wing news might occasionally eek something out. Museums are being strong-armed to take down historical displays that don't mesh with the narrative they're trying to write, real-life 1984 stuff. When there is news, it's 50 articles about cutting health care redistricting to make the left wins impossible. There's so much they're pandering to the extreme right that the deterred tourists hardly makes a dent.
I'm all over the left and centrist news, and I've heard of a couple of German tourists and a few Canadians being held for weeks to months, but nothing from NZ. I kinda want to try to log all this stuff in a link warden to preserve it.
When they put bounties on people and they don't bother checking for legal status much... with those bounty hunters probably trigger happy dumbasses and more and more reports of lilly white people getting caught up in this shit it is no wonder people are just not interested in being another statistic.
Just like when Stalin gave police arrest quotas and they just started arresting random people at train stations and public buildings etc.
Yeah, or like how America has treated it's African American population for it's whole existence. But you know Americans, they can never see their own country doing something bad without saying "What are we, a bunch of foreigners?"
Every time I've been to Vegas there have been a TON of foreigners. Same with Tahoe. I'll be in Tahoe soon and I'm going to keep an eye open for how many less foreigners there are this time.
11% down from 2024 is not "empty."
Sorry, decimated would be more appropriate then.
A bit more than decimated, technically speaking.
We decimated the decimation!
Ackshually that would be 1%, as 10% of 10% is 1%.
I used to work in tourism.
It really matters which 11% are we talking about. The relatively little people attending conferences on a company dime that won't exit their hotels and will spend exactly as budgeted are probs still there. The richer touristy people who can choose where to spend and are happy to spend on random bullshit going elsewhere hurts more. This is conjecture of course.
I've personally seen - in an unrelated place - tourist crowds getting bigger, hotel revenues getting slightly bigger, but everyone else in the industry like restaurants, activity places and souvenir shops, stagnating and closing as the bigger crowds were because the festivalgoers and young single people were switched out for families who pack their own lunch and primarily only sightsee and do what's free.
Look at Venice, insane crowds from cruise ships mean zero income for the city and its inhabitants because those people eat and sleep on the ship.
It really matters which 11% is missing. If you want to know how it affects tourism, you need data from that industry, data I think the Trump admin will be reluctant to collect.
I don't work in tourism, but I would have thought business travellers were among the more sought-after guests. Since they're not paying with their own money, they don't put much effort into bargain hunting. They're not high rollers, but they'll probably at least spend as much as their company allows.
OTOH, someone travelling on a personal vacation will probably be watching their pennies. They don't have an expense account.
I know that business travellers are the most sought-after clients for airlines. They're not in first class, but first class bookings are fickle. Business customers are reliable. They book last minute flights and pay whatever that requires.
Flights and hotels are different this way than other establishments, as they are "essential" for visitors, you don't buy them on the spot and you can't really get to a destination without transportation and a place to stay. From a different perspective, they are privileged, since for them only first class is fickle. For everyone else, all customers are.
So if you work for eg. a place that rents out jet-skis on the shore, you won't see a lot of suits, because they don't have time. And to be honest, most likely only around 10% of visitors will actually be your customers. Now if those customers are overrepresented in that missing 11%, you may have just halved your turnover, which means you'll need to close up shop.
go lose 11% of your monthly income and come back and let us know how that works out for you
Bro it's 2025. We've all lost at least 11% of our income/spending power post Covid
Imagine 11% more on top of that.
11% down is devastating. Why downplay it?
COVID was devastating. The strip saw their income fall 50%.
11% is bad but not "Ghost Town"
'empty'
'no one wants to come'
I'm sure 11% is a significant drop in any industry, but they weren't downplaying it, just correcting an exaggeration
There was clearly a modifier in front of the word "empty." There is a huge difference between saying, "empty" and "how empty." Perhaps you have some sort of agenda that kept you from realizing that.
Apparently vegas was already declining for a while, because of thier gouging and online options for gambling. the current issue, is trump basically accelerated its decline. ALSO NEVADa which is a red state depends on people gambling and touring to nevada, alot of california transplants went there for the no-income tax. it will be hilarious once they realized things are just as expensive if not more when tourism basically flatlines.
a YT channel i originally followed, asian poc talking about the news. some of the owners moved to vegas , and some of the guest host moved to reno, it was hilirious watching them complain about california and NEVADA for its lack of services like schools and private pratices, and yes they are RIGHTIEs.(very long story i used to follow but keep tabs on them through a subreddit) like former fans.
Do you live in LV? I was there just two weeks ago, I found it just as crowded and bustling as it has been in all my many other visits to the Strip. It was absolutely crowded, not dead anywhere. Maybe the difference is something more subtle that only a local would recognize. But from my perspective I noticed nothing strange.
Because they think it’s only minorities and white people are still welcome.