March 9, 2026 Team Contibutor
Las Vegas is preparing to spend millions in an effort to reconnect with one of its most important visitor markets: Canada.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) is considering a marketing agreement worth up to $6 million over five years aimed at boosting Canadian travel to the Nevada resort city. The proposal comes after Canadian visitation to Las Vegas dropped sharply in 2025, raising concerns across the destination’s tourism sector.
According to the LVCVA, Canadian visitor numbers fell roughly 24% last year, one of the steepest declines the city has seen in decades.
A Renewed Marketing Push
To help reverse the trend, LVCVA staff have recommended renewing the organization’s long-standing Canadian marketing representation agreement with Toronto-based Reach Global Marketing, which has worked with the destination for two decades.
If approved, the contract would begin July 1 with $1.12 million allocated for fiscal 2027, followed by $1.16 million in 2028 and $1.12 million in 2029.
Two optional extensions would bring the investment to $1.245 million in 2030 and $1.285 million in 2031.
The program would focus on airline partnerships, travel trade engagement, public relations campaigns and consumer marketing across Canada.
The goal is simple: remind Canadians why Las Vegas has long been one of their favourite U.S. getaways.
Canada Remains Vegas’s Largest International Market
Despite the drop, Canada remains Las Vegas’s largest international source market.
In 2025, the destination welcomed nearly 1.2 million Canadian visitors, representing about 25% of all international travellers to Las Vegas. Canadians have consistently ranked among the top two international visitor groups since 2000.
However, the recent downturn has caught the attention of tourism leaders.
While overall visitation to Las Vegas declined 7.4% between January and November 2025, the drop among Canadians was far more pronounced.
Airline data reflects the same trend. Air Canada reported a 36.9% decline in passengers travelling to Las Vegas, while Porter Airlines recorded a 43.8% drop on routes to Harry Reid International Airport.
Politics, Not Pricing, Driving Travel Decisions
Industry observers say the decline in Canadian visitors appears to be driven less by cost and more by political sentiment.
A Longwoods International study conducted in August 2025 found that 63% of Canadian travellers said they were less likely to visit the United States due to political factors.
Among those respondents, 80% cited tariffs as a key concern, while 71% pointed to political rhetoric from American leaders as influencing their travel decisions.
Recent U.S. trade policies — including tariffs on Canadian goods — and comments suggesting Canada could become the “51st state” have fueled frustration among some Canadian travellers.
As a result, many have shifted their vacation plans to destinations closer to home or to markets such as Mexico, Europe and the Caribbean.
Vegas Operators Try Creative Incentives
Some Las Vegas operators have already begun trying to lure Canadians back.
Three downtown properties — Circa Resort & Casino, the D Las Vegas, and Golden Gate Hotel & Casino — recently launched an “At Par” promotion that treats the Canadian dollar as equal to the U.S. dollar on select hotel rooms, gaming and food and beverage purchases through August 31, 2026.
The promotion aims to offset the impact of currency exchange rates for Canadian visitors.
Travel professionals believe price promotions alone won’t solve the issue. Canadian Travel Expert John Kirk said ” For better our worse Canadian Travellers have very long memories. There are many fences to mend. The world is shrinking in terms of safe and accessible destinations to visit. Travel to the US may very soon become an alternative as certain more regions become less attractive. Only time will tell. “
A Wider Tourism Slowdown
The Canadian decline is only part of a broader tourism slowdown facing Las Vegas.
The LVCVA reported 38.5 million total visitors in 2025, a 7.5% drop compared to 2024. Outside of pandemic disruptions, it represents the steepest annual decline since visitor tracking began in 1970.
Major casino operators have acknowledged the impact.
Betting on a Comeback
For Las Vegas, the new marketing push signals that the city isn’t waiting for geopolitical tensions to ease before taking action.
Instead, it is investing in rebuilding relationships with Canadian travellers — a market that has long played a critical role in filling hotel rooms, casinos and entertainment venues across the Strip.
After all, for more than a quarter century, Las Vegas has been one of the most popular U.S. destinations for Canadians. Tourism officials are hoping that with the right message — and a little time — that connection can be rebuilt.
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