Executives from MGM Resorts, Caesars Entertainment, Hard Rock International, Venetian and Raffles & Fairmont met at the White House to demand action from U.S. President Donald Trump on restoring international visitor flows. The drop in foreign arrivals is hitting Las Vegas and other gaming hubs.
Bill Hornbuckle, president and CEO of MGM Resorts, said the industry needs direct administration support to reach a target of 100 million foreign visitors a year. That would create 400,000 jobs, he said. Total visitation to Las Vegas fell 7.5% in 2025, while international arrivals dropped 14.7% to 2.2 million. The city ranked sixth among destinations for foreign visitors, behind New York (8.9 million), Miami (5.1 million), Orlando (4.3 million), Los Angeles (3.7 million) and San Francisco (2.4 million).
The U.S. received 68.3 million foreign visitors in 2025, down 5.5% year-on-year. Canadian traffic fell hardest — visits dropped around 20% amid tariffs and Trump's rhetoric about annexing the country. July 2026 data show a further 4.7% decline in foreign arrivals.
U.S. Travel Association head Geoff Freeman said the industry aims to reach 100 million visitors by 2030 and overtake France, which received a record 102 million tourists in 2025. Causes of the decline include long visa processing times, expensive flights, strict immigration policy and a bond programme covering travellers from 50 countries. Freeman noted that arrivals from those markets collapsed 80%.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup provided a temporary lift: travel spending rose 6.2% in June to $122.1 billion.
