A ‘Revival City’ With fewer tourists visiting Las Vegas, Nevada, local workers who have relied on tourism income are struggling.
According to the Las Vegas Convention and Tourism Bureau, the number of Las Vegas tourists from January to May this year fell 6.5% from the same period last year, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.
Room utilization at local hotels fell 14.6% in June from the same month last year, while sales per hotel room also fell 19.2%, according to property firm Costa data.
Mobile phone movement data also shows that the number of tourists walking through casino-dense areas is on the decline.
As a result, workers who have to make a living in related jobs, such as bartenders, showgirls, and gambling house dealers, are getting sick and tired.
In Las Vegas, there are 180,000 workers in tip-taking jobs. The total number of hospitality workers is 300,000, which has tripled since 1990.
If the number of tourists decreases, their income will inevitably decrease.
In Las Vegas, a tattooist who prints tourists commemorative tattoos such as “two dice shapes” told the WSJ his monthly income was only around $1,500 recently.
When the COVID-19 pandemic ended and Las Vegas experienced a tourism boom, tips and fixed income combined to make $3,000 to $6,000 per month, but income was also hit hard by the recent decline in tourists.
With the passage of a large-scale tax cut law pushed by U.S. President Donald Trump, tip income can be tax-free up to $25,000 a year, but the local response is lukewarm.
The tattooist told WSJ, “Tip tax-free, it’s awesome. But there’s no point if you don’t have anyone to tip.”
The Journal cited growing uncertainties in the U.S. economy and rising prices as factors behind the decrease in tourists. The newspaper also analyzed that the decrease in the number of Canadian tourists, which accounted for about 30 percent of all Las Vegas tourists, is another factor.
He also pointed out that Nevada, a leading rival state, could be a research case to look into how the White House’s trade war and tax cut policies are changing the U.S. economy.
“There is an old saying that Vegas is sickened when the (national) economy “snaps,”” said an official of the restaurant trade union, which represents 60,000 workers in hotels, restaurants and casinos in the Las Vegas area. “Hotels and casinos are getting rarer. They are worried about layoffs.”
EJ SONG
US ASIA JOURNAL
