Travel and Tourism Industry of Las Vegas: Development and Negative Impacts

This report focusses on travel and tourism industry of Las Vegas. This study examines how the development of travel and tourism has changed Las Vegas over time. An explanation on the negative impacts that has taken place after the development of travel and tourism at Las Vegas has been provided in this particular study.

Running head: TRAVEL AND TOURISM
Tourism and travel
Student’s name
University name
Author note

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Executive Summary
Travel and tourism is a flourishing industry. Las Vegas is known for gambling, fine dining and
night life. This world-famous tourist hub is also known for shopping and entertainment. This
report focusses on travel and tourism industry of Las Vegas. This study examines how the
development of travel and tourism has changed Las Vegas over time. An explanation on the
negative impacts that has taken place after the development of travel and tourism at Las Vegas
has been provided in this particular study.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Discussion........................................................................................................................................3
Shifting of tourism industry over time.........................................................................................3
Negative impacts on tourism of Las Vegas.................................................................................5
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................6
References........................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
Travel and tourism is a booming industry. It has been found that people usually visit Las
Vegas for pleasure. It has been noticed that approximately 48% individuals visit this place,
mainly for spending quality time with their near and dear ones (Nevadabusiness.com, 2018).
About $26.2 billion revenue has been collected by casino resorts as per the statistical information
of 2017 (Nevadabusiness.com, 2018). It has been observed that Las Vegas Strip., Bellagio, Red
Rock Canyon National and MGM Las Vegas are some of the most popular tourist spots of Las
Vegas. This report focusses on the travel and tourism sector of Las Vegas, Nevada. This report
focusses on how the development of travel and tourism has changed this world-famous tourist
destination over time. Apart from this, this study explains what are the negative impacts have
been as a consequence of this development.
Discussion
Shifting of tourism industry over time
It has been noticed as well as tourism is responsible for the growth of Nevada’s economy.
Gaming industry is considered as the biggest revenue generators of entertainment industry in
USA. It is seen that casino generates at least $1 million per year. As per the 2011 statistics,
Nevada possesses 2885 operating, 187, 372 slots, and 5901 games. The gaming industry is a
booing industry in Las Vegas. It has been that about $18.5 billion was the gross domestic
product of Nevada’s tourism sector (Edition.cnn.com, 2018). It has been noticed that about 40
million visitors had travelled to Las Vegas in order to visit the most popular destinations of Las
Vegas . It is seen that about 42 million tourists had visited Las Vegas in 2015 as per the report of
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitor’s Authority (Edition.cnn.com, 2018). It showcases the
fact that there has been about 2.5% increase has been noticed than 2014 (Nevadabusiness.com,
2018).
It has been noticed that luxury resorts, entertainment and gambling are the factors that
has attracted so many visitors to visit this unique destination. It has been noticed that about 5.2
million visitors had visited conventions at Las Vegas (Nevadabusiness.com, 2018). It has been
observed that approximately 5.7 million individuals had attended a convention in this tourist
destination. Moreover, it has been observed that there has been a growth in the segment of

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corporate meetings (Nevadabusiness.com, 2018). In this regard, it can be stated that tourism
industry of Las Vegas is growing continuously (Mahrous and Hassan, 2017). It has been noticed
that gaming properties are now concentrating on non-gaming offerings in order to meet the
expectations of the tourists. In this context, it can be stated that Station Casinos LLC have 19
properties in Southern Nevada which are facilitated with recreation as well as entertainment
options for the visitors. Movie theatres, ice skating rinks and bowling arrays are some of its
recreation along with entertainment options (Forno and Garibaldi, 2015). It has been observed
that corporation wants to add restaurants to the three properties in 2015. These properties are
Santa Fe Station, Green Valley Ranch Resort along with Red Rock Resort. An upgradation of the
visual technology would be done at Green Valley Ranch Resort. In this context, Bangwayo-
Skeete and Skeete (2017) commented that modern technologies will be used to attract more
visitors at Las Vegas. This shows that visitors want recreational facilities from hotels, resorts in
order to enjoy their leisure time at Las Vegas. As a result, hotels and resorts are emphasizing on
developing their infrastructure so that they can attract more visitors to avail their services.
It has been noticed that the tourists spend approximately $35.5 billion on hotel rooms,
restaurants along with tours according to the statistical information in 2016 (Money.cnn.com,
2018). This shows that there has been 16% growth in 2016 in comparison with 2015. It has been
noticed that in 2016, number of business travelers has increased 7.1% to 6.3 million
(Money.cnn.com, 2018). In this context, it can be sated that convention is considered as one of
the dominant drivers of travel and tourism industry of Las Vegas. This fact showcases the fact
that conventions is stabilizing the financial condition of the country (Sdt.unwto.org, 2018).
About 39.01 million travelers had visited this attractive destination according to the statistical
information of 2017 (Buhalis and Foerste, 2015). This fact reveals the fact there has been a
substantial decrease in the number of visitors in comparison with previous year. In this context, it
can be stated that Las Vegas was a small town which was sustained by San Pedro, Los Angeles
as well as Salt Lake Railroad. However, the advent of casino gambling has turned this town to a
popular metropolis. As a result, infrastructure of the hotels and resorts in Las Vegas become
highly developed. It has been noticed that tourists can hit some new sights at Strip such as video
game arena, which is situated at Luxor as well as Virtual Reality Museum located at Neon
Museum. It is seen that $100 million urban oasis is considered as one of its popular attractions
that attracts many visitors. This urban oasis is located in the midst of New York-New York along

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with Park MGM hotels. Fall of Atlantis Show is a famous show, which attracts many tourists.
The duration of this popular story is 11 minutes (Dailymail.co.uk, 2018).
Negative impacts on tourism of Las Vegas
It has been noticed that development of travel and tourism has created a negative impact
on Las Vegas. In accordance with the opinion of Standing, Tang-Taye and Boyer (2014), growth
of casino gambling has resulted to the growth of travel as well as tourism sector in Las Vegas. It
should be noted that criminal activities might take place in the overcrowded areas. In other
words, there are many casinos, which are not safe for the tourists as criminals often visit those
places for playing games. In this context, Xiang, Magnini and Fesenmaier (2015) commented
that people who are playing casinos might be criminals. It has been found that there are high
chances that they might harm the common people. If the criminals lose the games, they might
become furious and can shoot the people including the tourists. From the perspective of Buhalis
and Foerste (2015), the criminals often visit the casinos for doing harm to individuals including
tourists. It has been noticed that sometimes political upheaval might create a negative impact on
the travel and tourism industry of Las Vegas.
From the perspective of Dillette et al., (2017), unstable political condition of the nation
might restrict the visitors to visit the popular attractions of Las Vegas, Nevada. As a result,
tourism industry might have to incur huge financial loss. In the opinion of Bangwayo-Skeete and
Skeete (2017), terrorists often play casinos at Las Vegas. If they lose the game, these terrorists
might cause physical harm to the common people and the travelers. t has been observed that
global warming has adversely effected the travel as well as tourism sector of Las Vegas in
Nevada. Approximately 40% of total Carbon-dioxide emissions takes place due to air travel. In
this regard, Zervas, Proserpio and Byers (2017) commented that global warming takes place due
to air travel. Besides, high-rise buildings, luxurious hotels as well as resorts have pools, bars,
restaurants and other facilities. Therefore, energy consumption is higher in these hotels, resorts
among with high-rise buildings. As a result, global warming takes place. In this context, it can be
stated accommodation sector contributes at least 20% of global warming (Woo, Uysal and
Sirgy, 2018). It has been observed that a mass shooting incident had taken place at a musical
concert on October 1, 2017.

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It has been found that a gunman had shot at least 58 individuals who were going to attend
a musical concert. It has been found that about 851 individuals become injured as a consequence
of this mass shooting incident. In this context, it can be stated t this horrific incident has created a
sense of fear among the domestic as well as international travelers. As a result, therefore, they
had prevented themselves from going to Las Vegas. In this context, (Boley, McGehee and
Hammett (2017) commented that the number of visitors has decreased to a great extent. In the
opinion of Gursoy et al., (2017), tourism industry might face monetary loss because of
substantial declination in the number of travelers. On the other hand, Liu and Pratt (2017)
commented that criminal activities might get increased in crowded areas like casinos, bars,
restaurants. As a result, there are high chances that criminals might cause physical harm to the
tourist. Therefore, it can be stated that overcrowded areas or overpopulated areas are not at all
safe for travelers. In the opinion of Khan et al., (2017), a sense of fear might prevent the travelers
to visit the popular tourist’s destinations like Las Vegas. In other words, lack of security prevents
the various travelers to visit the popular tourist spots of this unique destination. Besides, Khan et
al., (2017) commented that apart from criminals, terrorists also can cause harm to the travelers.
In most of the cases, terrorist attacks takes place at overcrowded areas like casinos and shopping
malls, . It has been noticed that lack of security creates a sense of fear and uncertainty among the
visitors. As a result, they choose other safe and secure tourist spots instead of opting for Las
Vegas.
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it can be stated that there are certain negative impacts which
takes place after development of travel and tourism takes place. From the above discussion, it
can be stated that political upheaval and terrorism can adversely impact on the travel and tourism
of Las Vegas. Unstable political scenario can create a sense of fear in the minds of travelers. This
fear prevents the tourists to visit such a unique destination like Las Vegas. It has been observed
that unstable political scenario makes the tourists feel that their security is at stake. As a result,
they choose other destinations rather than choosing popular tourist hubs like Las Vegas. In
addition to this, number of terrorist attacks also prevents them to travel this particular tourist
destination. Apart from this, there are other reasons which creates a negative impact on the
travel and tourism industrial sector of the respective tourist destination. Changing climatic

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conditions prevents the tourists to visit this popular tourist hub. In other words, global warming
is preventing both the domestic travelers along with international travelers to visit this particular
tourist spot. Not only this, mass shooting incident at the musical concert has created a sense of
fear in the minds of people including the travelers thereby restricting them to travel to Las
Vegas.

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