Las Vegas Goes From a City That Never Sleeps to a Ghost Town

As adventure-seekers and lovers of the city experience know, there's nothing quite like Las Vegas for a weekend of good fun, occasional debauchery, and a little bit of everything you could wish for at your fingertips.

From family fun to scandalous nightlife, the city in the desert offers something for everyone, and everything in between.

But in 2025, social media reports began emerging that painted Vegas as a ghost town, hit hard by economic uncertainty and an economy that saw people holding tight to their purse strings out of long-term financial anxiety.

So what's going on with Las Vegas?

When things are going right in Las Vegas, it's a booming, dynamic, ever-changing, and almost breathing cityscape filled with laughing people spending money liberally and diving into their wildest dreams. Casinos and resorts that boast waterfalls, acre-wide pools, luxury rooms, fine dining, and more.

Recreations of world wonders like the Eiffel Tower and the Pyramids eye one another across the street as Venice-like canals beckon patrons and the massive Sphere flashes wildly across the horizon.

But when things go wrong, the neon lights and over-the-top buildings smack of desperation and what happens when a city tries too hard and grows too fast.

Now, people are posting to social media claiming that Las Vegas has become a ghost town. Cities once teaming with elbow-to-elbow crowds show just a sprinkling of people, a shadow of the former throngs.

One local commented on a TikTok video, "I’ve lived here 22 years and in the past few months you can see a lower rate of visitors in comparison to prior years especially my server and casino worker family/friends, they noticed there’s a lack of reservations and less tips have been coming in."

And that local is not alone; other people are noticing, including the experts.

In the first half of 2025, experts began sounding the alarm that tourism in Vegas was declining sharply. Vegas's 8 News Now reports that from May to June, tourism declined a worrying 6.5%, following a 5.1% decline between April and May.

The outlet reports, "LVCVA’s tourism report showed hotels are making 5.7% less money per available hotel room, and room nights occupied down by 5.5%. Overall, hotel occupancy (83.0%) is down 3.1% compared to last May. On the Strip, occupancy is 85.3%, while downtown hotels are at 74.8%."

Concerns about economic stability were cited as a big driving factor in the steep decline in tourism. But also, experts found that there was a precipitous drop in visitors from Canada following aggressive posturing from President Donald Trump towards the United States's neighbors to the north.

These days, people are tightening their purse strings and worrying about what might come next as the US President lurches from plan to plan on economic mapping and tariffs, making it hard to spend money on luxuries without knowing what you might need it for tomorrow.

While a decline in tourism in a city like Las Vegas might seem inconsequential to some, it has a significant impact on jobs for not only those who live in Las Vegas but also those whose jobs are connected to tourism in Vegas

The ripple effect can be far-reaching and dire. While there's no end in sight to the economic uncertainty caused by the Trump administration, Vegas locals are crossing their fingers that something improves soon.