Las Vegas casino CEO reveals how dining habits are evolving amid tourism drop
During a recent board meeting of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), officials addressed factors that have contributed to the decline of tourists this summer in Sin City.
Steve Hill, the group's president, spoke of the impact tariffs are having on both returning and potential new visitors.
"Some of the decisions our administration has made around international relations [have] caused a drop in tourism," said Hill, according to local outlet KTNV Las Vegas. He noted in particular a drop in Canadian visitors.
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Others have pointed to the high prices in Vegas.
Circa Resort & Casino CEO Derek Stevens told Fox News Digital, "I think some people are feeling Vegas is maybe pricing itself out." (See the video at the top of this article.)
"Getting a steak in Las Vegas is not as inexpensive as it used to be," he said.
"The days of Vegas being a place to visit because of cheap buffets and things like that are a bit in the past."
He added, "I understand how a number of people are talking about missing some of those elements — but as with any other city, things evolve."
Stevens acknowledged that the state of Vegas tourism is a nuanced one — and that overall, the restaurant business is very challenging.
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Circa has a total of 11 dining options, including restaurants, bars and cafés.
"I think every property owner wants to design a very broad-ranging restaurant selection because people like to eat where they wake up," Stevens said. "They like to get coffee where they wake up."
The industry has taken notice, he said, that visitors are "a bit more adventurous at lunch, although it has to be convenient" for them.
"And then [for] dinner, you're competing against the entire city," Stevens continued. "Everybody's trying to go to the new hotspot."
The Culinary Workers Union, which represents 60,000 Vegas workers, recently renewed or created several new contracts with major casinos in the city.
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"There was a relatively new culinary union contract that was signed that increased some costs," Stevens said.
Ted Pappageorge, secretary-treasurer of the Culinary Workers Union, previously told Fox News Digital that companies had frozen hiring and were making targeted cuts to part-time workers' hours.
"If it continues, it could bleed into the full-timers," he added.
Pappageorge also called the tipped income tax exemption in President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill" a "welcome relief."
He pointed out, however, that if workers aren't "making the tips, the credit doesn't help."
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Some industry observers have said the issues are more local.
"Many attribute [Vegas' current problems] not only to a general dip in international travel demand to the U.S., but also to aggressive price-gouging by hospitality venues," Rob DelliBovi, a consultant and founder of the Miami-based RDB Hospitality Group, previously told Fox News Digital.
"Guests are pushing back on $18 bottles of water in the minibar and $37 martinis."
Still, Stevens of Circa takes a more measured view.
"It’s not as if the sky is falling," he said, according to The Associated Press.
Circa has introduced inexpensive package deals to lure those with less money to spend.
"Vegas continues to reinvent itself as a destination worth visiting," he said.
Deirdre Bardolf of Fox News Digital, plus The Associated Press, contributed reporting.