Paul Szydelko
A major component of Las Vegas' new "Welcome to Fabulous" marketing campaign was an unprecedented citywide sale coordinated by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
Las Vegas hotels, restaurants, shows and attractions offered steep discounts during the sale from Sept. 22 to 26 in what could be the first of several collaborations.
Among the more than 100 deals: 50% off on stays at five Caesars Entertainment and nine MGM Resorts International properties; 20% off rooms, waived resorts fee, free parking and a $50 daily food and beverage credit at Fontainebleau Las Vegas; $50 tickets to select Caesars shows; 20% off tickets to "Awakening" at Wynn Las Vegas; and $55 admission to two MGM attractions, including the Big Apple Coaster at New York-New York, the Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay and Play Playground at Luxor.
The deals, subject to individual properties' conditions, were promoted through the LVCVA's Visit Las Vegas website. The website will continue to be a hub for information and resources as LVCVA's partners consider special offers going forward.
Hopes are up
"The response has been overwhelmingly successful," said Kate Wik, the LVCVA's chief marketing officer, told me last week. "We have seen a significant increase in website and referral volume to our partner sites from visitors across the U.S., even attracting some interest from people browsing in a couple of our top international markets."
Wik said online perception has been positive and the LVCVA is now working with its partners to evaluate how this initial interest and traffic translate into bookings.
"One of the city's greatest strengths is its ability to stay ahead of the curve by remaining nimble and responding quickly to feedback," Wik said. "As long as both visitors and partners continue to see value in these types of initiatives, we'll consider repeating it in the future."
Visitation remains down
The marketing and discounting efforts are a response to the continuing downturn in visitation to Las Vegas. According to LVCVA's latest figures, there were 3.2 million visitors in August--down 6.7 percent from August 2024. For the first eight months of 2025, visitation is down about 7.8 percent at 25.8 million.
The city's hotel occupancy rate is down 3% from last year at this time, and the average daily room rate has fallen 5.4%. RevPAR is down 8.8% through the first eight months. The passenger count at Harry Reid Airport is also off 4.5% so far this year. But convention attendance is up slightly (0.5%), and the county's gross gaming revenue ticked higher, 1.2%, than in the first eight months of 2024.