Posted on: Aug 17, 2021 at 12:29 pm
Last updated: August 17, 2021, 3:35 am.
The Las Vegas economy has been strong in recent months but is facing further COVID-19 concerns and other challenges, according to analysts.
Visitors pose for photos at the Las Vegas welcome sign on the south end of the strip. A surge in tourism has helped the region’s economy this year (Image: KESQ-TV)
Applied Analysis’s Jeremy Agüero said that southern Nevada has made its way to prosperity but may face an “economic cliff,” according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He was a speaker at the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance’s 41st annual Las Vegas Perspective event.
After the start of the year, Las Vegas tourism increased with the national introduction of COVID-19 vaccinations and stimulus checks. Gaming revenue, tourist visits, and airport travel have all improved in southern Nevada in recent months. These improvements offered optimism that the city’s economy, flattened by the pandemic, would be revitalized.
However, experts note that the delta variant threatens to dampen this enthusiasm. Clark County, which is where Las Vegas is located, accounts for 65 percent of COVID-19 cases in the state, according to the city of Las Vegas Twitter feed. Health officials in Los Angeles, Chicago and Hawaii have warned against traveling to southern Nevada because of rising infections and low vaccination rates.
Overall, according to the city of Las Vegas, Nevada is a “High Transition State”.
These factors, coupled with a shortage of international travelers and fewer conventions than in previous years, could signal a return to economic troubles in southern Nevada. Since 1999, Las Vegas casinos have made more money from conventions and hotel facilities, including food and entertainment, than they do from gambling, the Wall Street Journal reported.
At the Las Vegas Perspective event, Aguero said that “the bill will come due” at some point.
Business development in Las Vegas
Aguero also said that economic diversity in Las Vegas could be an issue as industrial space in the area becomes scarce, the newspaper reported.
That will affect our ability to diversify as an economy as a whole,” he said.
Speaking at the event, Bo Bernhard, UNLV’s vice president of economic development, said Las Vegas has opportunities to diversify its workforce.
He noted that UNLV’s Harry Reid Research and Technology Park was working on developing businesses in the area, the newspaper reported.
“What we are building out there on around 100 hectares is an innovation ecosystem designed for longevity, built as a cavalry and helping to renew our way out of this special historical moment,” said Bernhard.
Economic diversity in Reno
In northern Nevada, Reno outperformed Las Vegas economically during the pandemic. That’s because the economy is more diverse and, according to tourism officials, doesn’t just rely on gambling. Reno promotes local outdoor attractions, including skiing and other outdoor sports, at nearby Lake Tahoe.
Reno is about 440 miles north of Las Vegas, near the California border. It’s only about two hours from Sacramento and three and a half hours from San Francisco.
Las Vegas is located in the Mojave Desert and is further away from major metropolitan areas. The nearest major city, Los Angeles, is at least a four-hour drive away. Phoenix is five hours away.
“Being close to Northern California really helps,” said Charles Harris, president and CEO of the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority, to the Reno Gazette-Journal.
