Canadian Tourists Are Avoiding Las Vegas — And It’s Showing Up in the Casino Numbers

If you have been planning a Las Vegas trip this summer, here is something worth knowing: one of the biggest sources of international visitors to the Strip has gone nearly missing. Canadian tourists, who historically make up the largest share of Las Vegas’s international traffic by a wide margin, have pulled back sharply. The reasons are political and economic, but the downstream effect — for an American headed to Vegas — is more favorable than you might expect.

The Numbers Behind the Drop

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported that overall visitor numbers were down 7.4 percent for the January through November 2025 period, falling to 35.46 million compared to 38.27 million during the same stretch in 2024. Canada is the largest source of international visitors for Las Vegas. In 2024, approximately 1.4 million Canadians traveled to Las Vegas, accounting for roughly 3.3 percent of total visitation of 41.7 million. If Canadian visitation dropped by 20 percent in 2025 — which multiple reports suggest is close to accurate — that translates to roughly 280,000 fewer visitors from north of the border.

Data from Harry Reid International Airport tells the same story at the airline level. During October 2025, WestJet carried 59,260 passengers into Las Vegas — down from 88,711 in October 2024, a decline of 33.2 percent. Air Canada carried 45,056 passengers, down from 61,147, a drop of 26.3 percent. Porter Airlines was down 22 percent. Flair, a discount Canadian carrier, saw its passengers fall 71.4 percent year-over-year. Looking at a broader picture, Harry Reid Airport data from mid-2025 showed inbound seats from Canada down more than 18 percent overall compared to the prior year.

Why Canadians Stopped Coming

The causes are well-documented. U.S.-Canada trade tensions — including tariffs imposed by the Trump administration and retaliatory measures from Canada — created significant political friction that translated into changed travel behavior. Surveys and news coverage consistently pointed to Canadian travelers choosing alternative destinations such as Vancouver, Mexico, or Europe rather than the United States. The Canadian dollar’s weakness against the U.S. dollar added further financial friction, with the Bank of Canada reporting an exchange rate of approximately $0.725 USD per Canadian dollar in early 2026.

Steve Hill, president and CEO of the LVCVA, acknowledged the challenge publicly, describing the situation as having “national overtones” while expressing confidence in the long-term relationship between Las Vegas and Canadian visitors. Hill announced plans for a trade mission to Canada and sponsorship of a Toronto event as part of outreach efforts to stem the decline.

What This Means If You Are Headed to Vegas This Summer

Here is the practical upside for an American traveler. When international traffic dips and overall visitor counts fall, Las Vegas casinos respond with deals. That has happened in a meaningful way this year. Multiple operators up and down the Strip and in downtown Las Vegas rolled out promotions designed to attract price-conscious domestic visitors — the exact audience they needed to replace the missing international traffic.

Resorts World offered free self-parking through August 28, 2025 — a significant perk in a market where parking fees have become standard. The Plaza ran a $125 all-inclusive package covering accommodations, taxes, bottomless drinks, breakfast, and dinner. The Strat launched midweek stays at $49 and weekend stays at $99 inclusive of taxes and fees, plus a dining credit and observation deck access. Circa promoted a $400 two-night package that included $100 in dining credit, $100 in beverage credit, and a daybed reservation at its rooftop pool. Ellis Island — already one of the best value properties in the city — cut its weekday happy hour menu prices by 50 percent from 4 to 7 p.m.

On the casino floor itself, several properties moved toward more player-friendly table game conditions. The Strat and Palms both shifted their blackjack games from 6-to-5 payouts to the more favorable 3-to-2 structure. Off-Strip properties including The Rio, The Palms, Ellis Island, and South Point were offering $5 minimum blackjack and craps tables. The Rio was running $3 craps daily from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Downtown Grand had $5 blackjack, craps, and roulette — and even offered a $1 blackjack table, one of the lowest minimums anywhere in the city.

Lower Crowds at the Tables

Beyond the specific deals, the broader reduction in international visitors has translated into something harder to quantify but real: less competition for table seats, particularly during weekdays. Hotel occupancy slipped to 85.5 percent in 2025 from 88.6 percent the prior year, meaning fewer heads in beds and fewer bodies crowding the casino floor. For a recreational player who has shown up on a Vegas weekend to find every $15 blackjack table packed, a summer 2025 trip may feel noticeably different.

Virginia Valentine, president and CEO of the Nevada Resort Association, put it plainly: “Now is a great time to visit Las Vegas. Resorts typically offer a variety of deals and promotions during the summer season.” The LVCVA similarly promoted the season as one of the strongest for value, noting through its marketing that Las Vegas offers “unforgettable experiences at every price point.”

The LVCVA also generated approximately one million room nights through online travel agent partnerships over the summer, specifically aimed at driving domestic visitors to fill the gap left by international travelers. That level of promotional activity points to real demand from the properties themselves to get visitors in the door — which is exactly the environment where an American traveler tends to benefit. If you are still weighing your options, checking out online casino options to warm up before you get to the tables is always a reasonable move. And if Nevada poker rooms are on your agenda, the Nevada poker scene has its own angles worth knowing about before you sit down.