{"id":335941,"date":"2025-12-10T03:25:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T03:25:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/335941\/"},"modified":"2025-12-10T03:25:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T03:25:07","slug":"unlv-forecast-suggests-las-vegas-tourism-could-rebound-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/335941\/","title":{"rendered":"UNLV forecast suggests Las Vegas tourism could rebound in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>LAS VEGAS (KSNV) \u2014 As 2025 draws to a close, Las Vegas is looking ahead to a potentially brighter year for its hospitality industry, which supports more than one in four jobs in the state. <\/p>\n<p>The Center for Business and Economic Research at UNLV has released a study suggesting that the current slump in visitor numbers could end in 2026. <\/p>\n<p>However, the outcome depends on various factors beyond local control.<\/p>\n<p>Andrew Woods, director of the center, expressed a &#8220;cautiously pessimistic&#8221; outlook, noting that the economy has shifted over the past year and a half.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We went through a period of very high inflation, but consumers felt like they could keep up, because the job market was very robust,&#8221; Woods said. <\/p>\n<p>He added that the forecast for 2026 estimates between 39 and 40 million visitors, slightly below 2024 figures but potentially better than 2025.<\/p>\n<p>MORE ON NEWS 3 |  <a href=\"https:\/\/news3lv.com\/news\/local\/tourists-discover-hidden-gems-in-las-vegas-beyond-the-strips-neon-lights\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Tourists discover hidden gems in Las Vegas beyond the Strip&#8217;s neon lights<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Woods emphasized that the success of Las Vegas tourism in 2026 will hinge on broader economic conditions rather than local promotions. &#8220;My general take is the economy has shifted,&#8221; he said. <\/p>\n<p>The potential for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates could also impact consumer spending on discretionary purchases, such as trips to Las Vegas.<\/p>\n<p>The Culinary Union, representing 60,000 hospitality workers in Las Vegas, is hopeful for economic improvement. <\/p>\n<p>Union leader Ted Pappageorge described the current situation as the &#8220;Trump slump,&#8221; with members struggling due to high living costs. &#8220;We&#8217;re more than pessimistic, unfortunately,&#8221; Pappageorge said. &#8220;We&#8217;re encouraged by these reports, but our members they&#8217;re having a hard time with the cost of living.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Looking ahead, Woods believes that by the end of 2026, economic sentiment might improve. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I think by the end of next year, sentiment will get lower. I think it might start to raise by the end of next year,&#8221; he said. <\/p>\n<p>The best-case scenario would involve market corrections and wage growth, preventing layoffs and supporting consumer spending.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LAS VEGAS (KSNV) \u2014 As 2025 draws to a close, Las Vegas is looking ahead to a potentially&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":335942,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[45,49,48,46],"class_list":{"0":"post-335941","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-economy"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=335941"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335941\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/335942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=335941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=335941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=335941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}