Las Vegas’ revenue mix has shifted over the years
Gambling in Las Vegas seems to be growing in a more inclusive direction. Forget about secret casinos run by spooky people in black suits. In Vegas, casinos are transforming into a more friendly face, a face that welcomes as many "ordinary tourists" as possible to enjoy while spending their holidays. This trend has attracted many educational institutions to examine it, one of the most interesting is what was revealed by UNLV.
According to the University of Las Vegas (UNLV) in 2016, non-gaming revenues accounted for around 66% of Las Vegas’ total revenue mix as a result of market developments over the past sixteen years to more complete tourist destinations with hotels, entertainment, retail, and F & B / fine dining is becoming an increasingly important producer of income. The big casinos in Las Vegas operate inside luxurious, open-minded hotels that cater to their restaurants, pools and themed attractions. The hotels are designed for people who always pass the casino on the way between one sector and another. In Las Vegas, gambling is a serious business, closely supervised by the Nevada State Gaming Commission, which regulates everything from chipmaking to employee licensing.
Vegas is synonymous with casinos and this makes the city necessary to treat gambling as its main commodity. Since gambling cannot be separated from accommodation, it is a good opportunity for any company that wants to participate in Las Vegas tours. Casinos and tourist attractions are inseparable from each other in Las Vegas. They are a unit.
From the above facts it can be concluded that casino games in Las Vegas have been organized in such a way by hotels in coordination with relevant parties. Comparing these facts in Las Vegas with other main game destinations like Macau, we have the following fact: At present, non-gambling tourism in Macau is only 20% of the total, far below 66% of Las Vegas. According to the International Monetary Fund, it took around 30 years for Macau to have the same level of diversification as Las Vegas.
Let's look at some indicators of both tourist destinations: Las Vegas reinvention period and what's comingAccording to the Las Vegas Visitors Agency, the city has 55.8 million annual visitors who are looking for gambling, entertainment, world-class shopping, and luxury spas. What are the main points of success? We must mention:1. The airport, McCarran International, ranks eighth in the world on takeoff and landing. 45.6% of all visitors fly.2. Over the years, Las Vegas has also translated its tourism experience into other business opportunities.3. The Strip now has 150,000 hotel rooms and room supplies have grown + 100% over the past 20 years.4. More diverse offers in shopping, entertainment, sightseeing, world-class dining, etc.5. Infrastructure investment.6. New $ 2.3 Billion Global Business District ConventionWith more entertainment, the average length of stay is 4.4 days for Las Vegas, surpassing Macau with only 1.4 days. At this point, Chinese companies are now focusing on convention-based integrated business models such as Las Vegas, which help generate diverse cash flows and profits from mass players and non-gambling segments.Infrastructure development also adds to Macao's mix of non-gaming tourism; Family vacations, conventions and exhibitions. In addition, external transportation networks improve accessibility through the development of the large Hong Kong - Macau Bridge - Zhuhai, which opened in 2018.
Consumer behaviorWith a higher proportion of first-time visitors, who were also younger on average, Las Vegas visitors in 2016 were much more likely to participate in a variety of Las Vegas activities than visitors from the recent past, including to other paid attractions in Las Vegas, going to bars and lounges both within casinos and self-catering hotels, and going to a pool party or club.An increase in millennia (34% of total visitors) discovering destination for the first time is becoming the majority of people in today's economy, but they are not necessarily interested in traditional casino gambling. Hotels are constantly striving to create new experiences for people to come back and taste the destination again.According to the LCVA statistics, in 2016, 73% of all visitors were repeating the visit as shown in the chart. We also see a rise in visitors for the first time (27% in 2016), which shows the success of this destination as a major tourist attraction
From this perspective, future casino hotels should take as an example the experience of these two major tourist destinations to promote tourism based on: infrastructure investments with the authorities, developing diversification of non-gambling activities and offering a broad mix of experiences for both premium and mid-range customers, according to their budgets. This point of view for everything has been a consistently successful strategy for Las Vegas over the years. This business vision, along with consideration of new consumer preferences, will have a highly positive impact on employment, tax collection and tourism. It is clear that gambling and tourism are almost as old as human civilization itself, therefore they are both difficult to separate from each other. Combining the two will have a huge effect. But of course, this concept cannot be applied without demographic considerations otherwise serious problems can occur later on. Hopefully this article can give you a new perspective on how gambling and tourism can work together.