The Development of the Travel and Tourism Industry in Las Vegas

Discuss about the Tourism Vulnerability and Resilience to Terrorism.

Travel and tourism is a booming industry. It has been  found that  people usually visit Las Vegas for pleasure. It has been noticed that approximately 48% individuals visit this place, mainly for spending quality time with their near and dear ones (Nevadabusiness.com, 2018). About $26.2 billion revenue has been collected  by casino resorts as per the statistical information of 2017 (Nevadabusiness.com, 2018). It has been observed that Las Vegas Strip., Bellagio, Red Rock Canyon National and MGM Las Vegas are some of the most popular tourist spots of Las Vegas. This report focusses on the travel and tourism sector of Las Vegas, Nevada. This report focusses on how the development of travel and tourism has changed this world-famous tourist destination over time.  Apart from this, this study explains what are the  negative impacts have been as a consequence of this development.

It has been noticed as well as tourism is responsible for the growth of Nevada’s economy.  Gaming industry is considered as the biggest revenue generators of entertainment industry in USA. It is seen that casino generates at least $1 million per year. As per the 2011 statistics, Nevada possesses 2885 operating, 187, 372 slots, and 5901 games. The gaming industry is a booing industry in Las Vegas. It has been   that about $18.5 billion was the gross domestic product of Nevada’s tourism sector (Edition.cnn.com, 2018).  It has been noticed  that about 40 million  visitors had travelled to Las Vegas in order to visit the most popular destinations  of Las Vegas . It is seen that about 42 million tourists had visited Las Vegas in 2015 as per the report of The Las Vegas Convention and Visitor’s Authority (Edition.cnn.com, 2018).  It showcases the fact that there has been about 2.5% increase has been noticed than 2014 (Nevadabusiness.com, 2018).

It has been noticed that luxury resorts, entertainment and gambling are the factors that has attracted so many visitors to visit this unique destination. It has been noticed that   about 5.2 million visitors had visited conventions at Las Vegas (Nevadabusiness.com, 2018). It has been observed that approximately 5.7 million individuals had attended a convention in this tourist destination.  Moreover, it has been observed that there has been a growth in the segment of corporate meetings (Nevadabusiness.com, 2018). In this regard, it can be stated that tourism industry of Las Vegas is growing continuously (Mahrous and Hassan, 2017).  It has been noticed that gaming properties are now concentrating on non-gaming offerings in order to meet the expectations of the tourists. In this context, it can be stated that Station Casinos LLC have 19 properties in Southern Nevada which are facilitated with recreation as well as entertainment options for the visitors.  Movie theatres, ice skating rinks and bowling arrays are some of its recreation along with entertainment options (Forno and Garibaldi, 2015). It has been observed that corporation wants to add restaurants to the three properties in 2015. These properties are Santa Fe Station, Green Valley Ranch Resort along with Red Rock Resort. An upgradation of the visual technology would be done at Green Valley Ranch Resort. In this context, Bangwayo-Skeete and Skeete (2017) commented that modern technologies will be used to attract more visitors at Las Vegas. This shows that visitors want recreational facilities from hotels, resorts in order to enjoy their leisure time at Las Vegas. As a result, hotels and resorts are emphasizing on developing their infrastructure so that they can attract more visitors to avail their services.

The Negative Impacts of Travel and Tourism in Las Vegas

 It has been noticed that the tourists spend approximately $35.5 billion on hotel rooms, restaurants along with tours according to the statistical information in 2016 (Money.cnn.com, 2018). This shows that there has been 16% growth in 2016 in comparison with 2015.  It has been noticed that in 2016, number of business travelers has increased 7.1% to 6.3 million (Money.cnn.com, 2018). In this context, it can be sated that convention is considered as one of the dominant drivers of travel and tourism industry of Las Vegas. This fact showcases the fact that conventions is stabilizing the financial condition of the country (Sdt.unwto.org, 2018). About 39.01 million travelers had visited this attractive destination according to the statistical information of 2017 (Buhalis and Foerste, 2015). This fact reveals the fact there has been a substantial decrease in the number of visitors in comparison with previous year. In this context, it can be stated that Las Vegas was a small town which was sustained by San Pedro, Los Angeles as well as Salt Lake Railroad. However, the advent of casino gambling has turned this town to a popular metropolis.  As a result, infrastructure of the hotels and resorts in Las Vegas become highly developed. It has been noticed that tourists can hit some new sights at Strip such as video game arena, which is situated at Luxor as well as Virtual Reality Museum located at Neon Museum. It is seen that $100 million urban oasis is considered as one of its popular attractions that attracts many visitors. This urban oasis is located in the midst of New York-New York along with Park MGM hotels. Fall of Atlantis Show is a famous show, which attracts many tourists. The duration of this popular story is 11 minutes (Dailymail.co.uk, 2018).

It has been noticed that development of travel and tourism has created a negative impact on Las Vegas. In accordance with the opinion of Standing, Tang-Taye and Boyer (2014), growth of casino gambling has resulted to the growth of travel as well as tourism sector in Las Vegas. It should be noted that criminal activities might take place in the overcrowded areas. In other words, there are many casinos, which are not safe for the tourists as criminals often visit those places for playing games.  In this context, Xiang, Magnini and Fesenmaier (2015) commented that people who are playing casinos might be criminals.  It has been found that there are high chances that they might harm the common people. If the criminals lose the games, they might become furious and can shoot the people including the tourists. From the perspective of Buhalis and Foerste (2015), the criminals often visit the casinos for doing harm to individuals including tourists. It has been noticed that sometimes political upheaval might create a negative impact on the travel and tourism industry of Las Vegas. 

Conclusion

From the perspective of Dillette et al., (2017), unstable political condition of the nation might restrict the visitors to visit the popular attractions of Las Vegas, Nevada. As a result, tourism industry might have to incur huge financial loss. In the opinion of Bangwayo-Skeete and Skeete (2017), terrorists often play casinos at Las Vegas. If they lose the game, these terrorists might cause physical harm to the common people and the travelers. t has been observed that global warming has adversely effected the travel as well as tourism sector of Las Vegas in Nevada. Approximately 40% of total Carbon-dioxide emissions takes place due to air travel. In this regard, Zervas, Proserpio and Byers (2017) commented that global warming takes place due to air travel. Besides, high-rise buildings, luxurious hotels as well as resorts have pools, bars, restaurants and other facilities. Therefore, energy consumption is higher in these hotels, resorts among with high-rise buildings. As a result, global warming takes place. In this context, it can be stated accommodation sector contributes at least 20% of global warming (Woo,  Uysal and Sirgy, 2018). It has been observed that a mass shooting incident had taken place at a musical concert on October 1, 2017.

It has been found that a gunman had shot at least 58 individuals who were going to attend a musical concert. It has been found that about 851 individuals become injured as a consequence of this mass shooting incident. In this context, it can be stated t this horrific incident has created a sense of fear among the domestic as well as international travelers. As a result, therefore, they had prevented themselves from going to Las Vegas. In this context, (Boley, McGehee and Hammett (2017) commented that the number of visitors has decreased to a great extent. In the opinion of Gursoy et al., (2017), tourism industry might face monetary loss because of substantial declination in the number of travelers. On the other hand, Liu and Pratt (2017) commented that criminal activities might get increased in crowded areas like casinos, bars, restaurants. As a result, there are high chances that criminals might cause physical harm to the tourist. Therefore, it can be stated that overcrowded areas or overpopulated areas are not at all safe for travelers. In the opinion of Khan et al., (2017), a sense of fear might prevent the travelers to visit the popular tourist’s destinations like Las Vegas. In other words, lack of security prevents the various travelers to visit the popular tourist spots of this unique destination. Besides, Khan et al., (2017) commented that apart from criminals, terrorists also can cause harm to the travelers. In most of the cases, terrorist attacks takes place at overcrowded areas like casinos and shopping malls, . It has been noticed that lack of security creates a sense of fear and uncertainty among the visitors. As a result, they choose other safe and secure tourist spots instead of opting for Las Vegas.

Conclusion

From the above discussion, it can be stated that there are certain negative impacts which takes place after development of  travel and tourism takes place. From the above discussion, it can be stated that political upheaval and terrorism can adversely impact on the travel and tourism of Las Vegas. Unstable political scenario can create a sense of fear in the minds of travelers. This fear prevents the tourists to visit such a unique destination like Las Vegas. It has been observed that unstable political scenario makes the tourists feel that their security is at stake. As  a result, they choose other destinations rather than choosing  popular tourist hubs like Las Vegas. In addition to this, number of terrorist attacks also prevents them to travel this particular tourist destination. Apart from  this, there are other reasons which creates a negative impact on the travel and tourism industrial sector of the respective tourist destination. Changing climatic conditions prevents the tourists to visit this popular tourist hub. In other words, global warming is preventing both the domestic travelers along with international travelers to visit this particular tourist spot. Not only this, mass shooting incident at the musical concert has created a sense of  fear in the minds of people including the travelers thereby restricting them to travel to Las Vegas.

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