The head of the Las Vegas tourism agency told business leaders Thursday the rumors of the city’s death as a destination “are greatly exaggerated,” preliminary reports show visitation picked up in September, and it looks to be “exceptionally strong” over the next 15 months.
Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority CEO Steve Hill spoke to members of NAIOP Southern Nevada, the development organization, during its monthly meeting at The Orleans. He also said he doesn’t expect any new announcements on resorts getting built on the Strip for years and that the LVCVA plans to use AI to lure more visitors.
Much of Hill’s focus Thursday was on tourism, down nearly 8% for the year, amid headlines that Las Vegas is overpriced. That prompted the city’s resorts to offer specials to lure visitors as part of an LVCVA campaign.
“We saw a slowdown over the summer. We started to see a little uptick as we got to August. I’m seeing some preliminary numbers for September and it’s probably going to be a little better than August. We feel like there’s a ramp out of this slowdown through the rest of this year. We have a great foundation of group business, trade shows, and sporting events. If you look at what drives people to Las Vegas, the next 15 months looks exceptionally strong.”
Hill said he has the easiest product on Earth to sell. The issue is people have fewer financial resources to come to Las Vegas at this time, not because of the affordability of the destination, but everyday living expenses. “We need to respond to that.”
Hill was asked what, besides Bally’s planned project on the former Tropicana site and the under-construction Hard Rock Las Vegas at the former Mirage site, will be the next resort built on the Strip and when.
“I think it’s going to be a while.” Hill said the real estate investment trust deals on the south Strip are an obstacle to blowing up resorts and rebuilding something that financially makes sense.
“Until interest rates come down, I would be surprised by properties being built in the resort corridor this decade.”
Hill was also asked about the power of artificial intelligence for the tourism industry.
As the largest destination marketing organization in the world, he said, “We want to take advantage of that strength to invest in AI, which we’re doing right now. My vision is to use AI to point us in the right direction to sell and go in the right direction to maximize all the assets we have in Las Vegas. We think it offers an opportunity to further separate Las Vegas from other destinations around the globe.”