Las Vegas Strip hit hard as visitors stay away from the city | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

Even as properties on the Las Vegas Strip add popular music residencies at casinos and mind-blowing venues like The Sphere, while doubling down on sporting events like F1 races, pro wrestling, and NFL and NHL games, the Las Vegas Strip is experiencing a steep and potentially long-term tourism slump.

It’s still a symbol of glitz and glamour and home to iconic casinos, luxury resorts, celebrity chefs, and big-ticket entertainment, but the Strip is not pulling crowds the way it used to.

According to newly released data from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), only 3.1 million people visited Las Vegas in June, an 11.3% drop compared to the same month last year.

Las Vegas is experiencing a tourism slump.

Image source&colon; Rolf&lowbar;52/Shutterstock

Vegas tourism plummets as fewer visitors head to the Strip

The slowdown comes as more travelers — especially younger ones — say Vegas doesn’t offer the value or appeal it once did.

Across social media, would-be visitors are calling out the rising cost of everything from hotel resort fees to parking and food. And with fewer people coming to town, hotel occupancy on the Strip dropped 6.5%, while average daily room rates fell 6.6% to $163.64, per the LVCVA.

A once-buzzing Strip development — a 43-story casino and hotel on Las Vegas Boulevard — has now been put on indefinite hold. The high-profile project, located in a prime spot, will remain a surface parking lot for now.

Why younger tourists are staying away

The pullback is more than economic — it reflects shifting generational habits that may leave the Strip’s traditional business model behind.

“I don’t know one person under 40 who goes to Vegas regularly to bet or play slots,” said conservative commentator and podcast host Robby Starbuck, in an interview with Fox News Digital. “Now nearly everyone under 40 who bets seems to do it online.”

That’s backed up by data: the U.S. online gambling market reached $12.68 billion in 2024, according to Grand View Research. With sportsbooks and online casinos just a click away, many younger gamblers no longer see a need to fly to Nevada.

“The typical casino feel and marketing just won’t be as successful with young people who have 40 options to gamble on their phones from the comfort of their own home,” Starbuck said.

Younger generations say no to slots, showgirls, booze

The Strip’s classic selling points — slot machines, showgirls, and bottomless cocktails — aren’t resonating with Gen Z and millennials.

A 2023 Gallup study found that fewer than four in 10 young adults (38%) are regular drinkers. So while they might indulge in a beer or cocktail now and again, they’re not binge drinking the way their parents might have.

“Younger generations drink alcohol at lower rates than older generations did at their age. That’s going to have a material impact on the Vegas business model,” Starbuck noted.

Hotel rates and occupancy on the Strip take a hit

Fewer tourists and lower spending are translating to real revenue losses. Average daily room rates are down, occupancy has slipped, and resorts are scaling back expectations.

Caesars Entertainment CEO Tom Reeg described this season as a “soft summer” during a recent earnings call — a sign that major players expect weakness to continue.

Meanwhile, Starbuck, who says he has visited Las Vegas many times over the years, said he likely won’t return without real changes. “If it feels like a place where I can see the future and bring my whole family, then you’ll see me in Vegas again,” he said. “Without that kind of transformation, Vegas is in trouble in the coming decades.”