EDITORIAL: Response to Las Vegas travel deals a fabulous sign

Those writing Las Vegas’ obituary need to reconsider how the story will end.

The tourism dip has rippled throughout the local economy. Hiring has slowed, and consumer spending is down. The news hasn’t all been bad, however. Rental prices have dropped because of new construction and a slowdown in new residents. Despite years of talk about diversifying the economy, it’s a reminder that tourism remains the engine powering growth in Southern Nevada.

There are two competing narratives to explain the slowdown. The first, pushed by Culinary Local 226, blames President Donald Trump. Union officials argue that his tariffs have hurt the economy, leaving people with less to spend on leisure. Also, they attack the president for getting into spats with foreign countries, which has hampered international tourism to the United States.

The second is that Las Vegas’ biggest problem is price. This town wooed tourists to the desert with incredible entertainment — and deals that seemed too good to be true. But instead of an abundance of buffets, viral videos now highlight $26 bottles of water. Tourists and locals used to take free parking for granted. Now, it’s a rarity. Resort fees have only added to the frustration. Many visitors enjoyed their vacations but didn’t feel like they received good value.

These theories aren’t mutually exclusive. But if Mr. Trump’s tariffs have triggered the malaise, Las Vegas can do little to immediately change the outcome. The region can, however, respond to concerns about visitor value.

Last month, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority coordinated a “Fabulous Five-Day Sale.” It worked with resorts to offer more than 150 exclusive deals. If Las Vegas’ main problem were economic headwinds, there would have been little interest in this promotion.

But the response was overwhelming. Website traffic and referrals to resorts for booking were up substantially. Convention authority officials said the booking interest generated by this effort was more than seven times larger than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined. It even created positive buzz for traveling to Las Vegas on social media.

Tourism officials say they will work with resorts to fully understand how much the campaign drove sales. It may even coordinate a similar effort in the future.

There’s a tendency in both life and politics to blame circumstances you can’t control for your predicament. You can certainly see some trying to do that here. But Las Vegas has overcome long odds before by refusing to be a victim. The success of this sale shows the Las Vegas brand — and the allure of trying your luck here — remain strong.