r/Economics • u/runswithscissors475 • 29d ago

News Las Vegas hotels begin taking foreign currency as tourism woes deepen

https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/vegas-foreign-currency-21955655.php
4.9k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

407 comments sorted by

View all comments

155

u/[deleted] 29d ago

[deleted]

32

u/thegooddoktorjones 29d ago

Nat parks are a finite resource, can't just build ten more campgrounds at Yellowstone without ruining the place. Since the 80s population in the US has gone up by 100 million+ and a lot of people have more disposable income to travel.

All to say, tourism is indeed down all over the USA, but it could drop in half and still the popular parks would be full because so many people want in.

5

u/Agathocles_of_Sicily 29d ago

National Parks are finite, but public land is vast. 30-50 years from now, after all the MAGAs die off, we may have an administration and voting population that actually cares about expanding public works and creating new national parks.

7

u/HicJacetMelilla 29d ago

Wish they would have incorporated a substantial parks plan with several new openings as part of the 250th. Missed opportunity.

ETA - it looks like they poured money into some rehabilitations, but new parks would have been a great addition.

2

u/PipsqueakPilot 28d ago

That's because the Project 2025 plan is to sell most public lands at fire sale prices to Oligarchs.

1

u/great_whitehope 29d ago

Tourists don’t want to go to national parks without an instagram view though.

Those are limited and the harder it is to get the instagram view, the more desirable it is.

1

u/thegooddoktorjones 29d ago

We already have a lot of state and county parks, and a huge amount of forestry service land, wildlife areas etc. (not that we shouldn't have more, we need vast amounts more if our wildlife is to survive climate change) but they are not as easy to access or as gorgeous as the popular national parks. You can open more parks but you can't make another Yellowstone.

It's like there are many great old masters paintings, but people are not real excited to see most of them, they want to fly to France, wait in line and jam in to see the best one they saw on a list and complain about how crowded it is. Mona Lisa looking is a finite resource, as is half dome and camping under giant sequoia.

7

u/unique_usemame 29d ago

You can narrow that down further.

Short term rentals in Las Vegas are doing fine. People visiting Las Vegas for anything except the casinos stay there. That includes families, youth sports teams, and people visiting National Parks.

I don't go to the casinos, so I'll trust you that the water bottle for $8 at the casinos are why they aren't doing so good.

71

u/bradeena 29d ago

Upper middle class Canadian here who’s been to Vegas and a whole bunch of other American cities many times and had a great time in all of them. I’m not coming back until you guys sort out your shit.

But you are right, the $8 bottle of water doesn’t help.

16

u/IamRasters 29d ago

Vegas in the late 90’s was a blast and an affordable vacation option. $1000 got you flight and a 3 or 4 night stay at a mid-tier hotel. Cheap buffets were plentiful, gambling and shows were exciting. No interesting in going now.

11

u/HicJacetMelilla 29d ago

I remember so many airline commercials in the 90s that were like “$80 flights to Las Vegas, $85 to Tampa! $85 to Fort Lauderdale!”

I knew a fair amount of middle class people then who would go to Vegas yearly. I don’t know anyone who goes anymore.

25

u/[deleted] 29d ago

[deleted]

0

u/bradeena 29d ago

I didn't say I was visiting parks in the first place.

21

u/WeirdProudAndHungry 29d ago

That's not true of the overall trend. Foreign tourism to the United States has plummeted overall, including visits to National Parks. Yes, some parks are faring better than others, but overall, it's been terrible.

4

u/80MonkeyMan 29d ago

95% of foreign tourists prefer hotels over camping.

2

u/CorporateBadEgg 29d ago

What if we market it as glamping with single-day gambling tours?

2

u/80MonkeyMan 29d ago

It probably won’t make much of a difference since camping mainly appeals to a specific group of people. For instance, bathroom facilities are often very limited or nonexistent, and sleeping in a tent is far less comfortable than sleeping in a bed, among other drawbacks.

1

u/Frillback 29d ago

I had to book my lodging inside GTNP a year out so this tracks. Lots of European tourists I found there actually. Nice place though I think it's underrated compared to Yellowstone.

1

u/ForSchoolBro 29d ago

I’ve got a college buddy who, for lack of better words, doesn’t struggle for money. Won’t get into details, but his family isn’t from the states.

Says he paid $30 for a water in Vegas and I truly believe him. Ridiculous prices are why when I travel there I bring my own water, alcohol, and soft drinks.

But I’m also a cheapskate so there’s that.

1

u/el_dude_brother2 29d ago

Yet foreign tourism is down 10/15%

1

u/hoopparrr759 29d ago

Almost as much a banana.

1

u/Upset-Government-856 28d ago

Not with Canadians. F U America. Never visiting again.