Wow! Las Vegas Visitors Down 61% in July, But There Are Some Signs of a Slow Recovery

Las Vegas Visitor Numbers July 2020 – The Recovery Has Begun

Las Vegas has been working towards a recovery, but today we get to see just how well that is going. The numbers aren’t all good, but there is definitely some hope and I can’t wait to go over everything. You can find my full analysis of the Vegas July, 2020 visitor numbers in this article and I have also broken down everything in a YouTube video. I’ll embed that below, but for the most part both this article and the video have the same info. Also don’t forget to go grab a copy of the LVCVA stats for yourself, because there is a ton to break down. 

Las Vegas Convention & Visitor’s Authority July Visitor Numbers

So let’s dive into these numbers and we’ll start with the big one Visitor Volume! In July, 2020 a total of 1,438,000 people visited Vegas compared to 3,685,900 a year ago. That is a 61% decline year over year and that once again is helped along by the complete lack of convention attendance. YTD through July overall visitors are down 55% from 24.83 million to 11.18 million.

Vegas Occupancy Is Way Down

Next let’s talk occupancy. In July, 2020 total occupancy in Las Vegas was 42.5% which is a 48.6% decline from the 91.1% occupancy number of July, 2019. Yes, Vegas went from filling 91% of the rooms last July to just 42% this year and there are 25,000 less rooms in inventory meaning that number is even worse!

On the Strip occupancy was just 41.9% while Downtown it was 41.8%. The real killer is midweek though. Weekend occupancy is 54.4% whereas midweek only 36.9% of hotel rooms are filled. But what about the rooms rates? How are Vegas casinos doing with those? The answer is not bad.

Average Daily Room Rate & RevPAR Tell 2 Different Stories

The average daily room rate in Vegas was $104.39 in July, 2020 compared to $126.92 a year ago. On the Strip that number was $115.68 and downtown it was $59.74. Overall this is only a 17.8% decline year over year which isn’t bad when compared to many of these other numbers. It’s definitely one of the better performing areas for Vegas during this recovery. Unfortunately when we look at revenue per available room the story changes a bit.

In July, 2020 the Strip RevPAR or revenue per available room was $48.47 whereas Downtown was $24.97. Overall the RevPAR for Vegas was $44.37 which is a 61.6% decline from a year ago. Why is RevPAR so low when rates are high? The answer is occupancy. Tons of available rooms are generating $0 revenue as they sit empty and that drags this number down.

More Vegas July Visitor Numbers

I think it’s important to also compare June and July numbers and I’ll dive into those in a moment, but first let’s check out a few other interesting stats from July:

• Total Room Nights Occupied: 1,633,400 compared to 4,204,100 (-61.1%)
• Total Deplaned Passengers: 1,623,377 compared to 4,507,098 (-64%)
• Average Daily Traffic All Highways: 122,299 compared to 135,729 (-9.9)
• Average Daily Traffic I-15 CA/NV: 44,332 compared to 53,102 (-16.5)

Las Vegas Gaming Revenue July 2020 – Down But Some Hope

And then there is gaming revenue. Considering how far visitorship has fallen, I would say gaming revenue numbers are far from a disappointment. In July, 2020 Clark County had $612,855,000 in gaming revenue which is only down 28.9% compared to a year ago. On the Strip revenue was $330,085,000 which is down 39.2% and Downtown revenue is only down 20.6%.

Vegas Visitor Numbers – Comparing June to July

But how is Vegas doing compared to June? Well to start, keep in mind that Vegas casinos weren’t allowed to reopen until June 4, meaning they only had 27 days of operation in June compared to 31 days in July. The number of available rooms also increased in July which is something to be aware of as well.

Let’s start by comparing Visitor Volume. 1,065,100 people visited in June and 1,438,000 in July. That is good news, but how does it work considering the amount of operating days? Well, June had 39,448 visitors per day open while July had 46,387. This does get tricky since they are tracking people who arrived on June 1-3 before the casinos open, but I think it does show a nice little upwards trend.

As we go through the rest of the numbers we do see some slight improvements, but not a vast recovery when comparing June to July. July did benefit from a busy 4th of July weekend, but it barely outperformed June. For example occupancy in June, 2020 was 40.9% and 42.5% in July. A small increase, but 28,000 more rooms were brought online so that number is actually better than it looks.

What really isn’t improving is RevPAR. As these hotels bring more rooms online they aren’t able to increase their revenue per room. RevPAR increased from $42.56 in June to $44.37 in July, but that is still WAAAAAY down from $115.62 a year ago. And this is where we can really see how far Vegas is from a true recovery. Or is it?

Gaming Revenue Is A Sign of Hope

One area that is fascinating to me is gaming revenue. While revenue is down, it is doing far better than one would think given the rest of these numbers. In June Clark County had $441,042,000 of gaming revenue or $16,334,888 for each of the 27 days which the casinos were open. In July gaming revenue jumped to $612,855,000 or about $19,769,516 for each of the 31 days open.  The Strip and Downtown both saw pretty nice increases in gaming revenues.

So what does this all mean? Las Vegas still has a very very long road to recovery. MGM Resorts is laying off 18,000 of their furloughed workers nationwide tomorrow and many other gaming companies will follow suit. There is clearly demand for Las Vegas, but not enough to match the overwhelming supply.

Las Vegas Recovery Has Begun But It Will Be Slow

Las Vegas has grown from a railroad stop to becoming a vital part of Americana. I have traveled quite extensively around the world and have constantly been surprised with how well known and popular my hometown is. People come here from all over and Las Vegas has been able to deliver an experience for all of them. From Asian tour groups to gambling grannies and young people looking to party Vegas has it all, but when will people come back?

I think the answer is soon. While this will be a long and slow process, I believe we will start seeing improvements in numbers. More and more people are looking to get away and Vegas has finally settled with rules and procedures to help keep people safe. For many the mask less Strip was too much but today health and safety procedures are drawing people back.

The true recovery for Vegas won’t come though until conventions return. Over the past decades Vegas has grown into the convention capital of the United States and so much of this city is based on having those visitors. Since conventions won’t be returning until next year things will continue to be tough for awhile, especially midweek.

Las Vegas Visitor Numbers July 2020 – Bottom Line

While I know that is a lot to digest I want to leave you with this. Things could be much worse and there is some good news to be taken from these numbers. Yes, there is a ton of bad news as well, but people are coming and spending and that shows there is demand for Vegas. It will take time to bring people back in the numbers needed, but the recovery has already begun even if it is slow. 

What do you think of these new Vegas visitor numbers? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Disclosure: Miles to Memories has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Miles to Memories and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.

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