Tourism to Las Vegas has fallen sharply, with overall visitation down 11.3% in June 2025 compared to the same month last year, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. International visitors dropped 13% over the same period, with marked falls in hotel occupancy, convention attendance, and airline traffic from key markets.
Union leaders and hospitality workers in Nevada consulted by The Guardian link part of the slowdown to immigration enforcement policies under the Trump administration.
"If you tell the rest of the world you're not welcome, they are going to listen," said Ted Pappageorge, secretary treasurer of the Culinary Workers Union Local 226, in comments to the news site. Our members are telling us that they're quite nervous, and that's why they're calling it a Trump slump.
The Culinary Workers Union represents 60,000 workers in Las Vegas and Reno, 45% of whom are immigrants.
Workers describe reduced hours and increased layoffs as ways in which immigration enforcement is affecting workers. Norma Torres, a Mandalay Bay housekeeper with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status, told The Guardian that she fears losing her ability to work and stay in the country.
"A lot of departments are having a lot of layoffs. In the housekeeping department, the people on call are barely called into work."
Canada, Nevada's largest international market, has also seen steep drops. Flair Airlines reported a 55% decline in passengers compared to last year, and Air Canada's traffic from May to June fell 13.2%—a third lower than the same period last year. Pappageorge said declines are also evident from Mexico and southern California, with some potential visitors deterred by immigration raids, tariffs, and economic uncertainty.
According to Axios, some international travelers are deliberately avoiding the United States in protest of administration policies, while the president's trade war and shifting tariff deadlines have also strained relationships with key U.S. allies and created additional deterrents for travel.
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) in May projected international visitor spending in the U.S. will fall by $12.5 billion this year, to just under $169 billion from $181 billion in 2024, a 22.5% drop. WTTC President Julia Simpson said at the time that "while other nations are rolling out the welcome mat, the U.S. government is putting up the 'closed' sign," warning it could take years to recover without action to restore traveler confidence.
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