As the Consumer Technology Association’s (CTA) blockbuster annual CES show turbo-charges the Las Vegas convention engine each year, the Las Vegas Chamber’s annual Preview Las Vegas event sets the annual outlook for Southern Nevada with executive-level briefings on the economic, development, tourism and business landscape.
With overall visitation down 7.5% in 2025, accompanied by a slight downturn in revenue, speakers at the 2026 edition of Preview Las Vegas, held this January at Wynn Las Vegas, authoritatively put the narrative in context.
In his signature rapid-fire, deep-dive style, Jeremy Aguero, principal analyst at economic, fiscal and policy research firm Applied Analysis, set the tone by telling the full house of 1,500-plus attendees to “separate fact from fiction” amid the “noise” and “tsunami of negativity” on mainstream and social media.
“The real story,” said Aguero, “is in the data.”
Combined with a three-day press tour of resorts and group-ready attractions on and off the Strip, here are the facts, figures and insights into how Vegas, while still facing macroeconomic uncertainty, shaky consumer confidence and other headwinds, is confidently poised for rebound, stability and growth.
Las Vegas Convention Center Sets the Pace for 2026
The sum of the Preview conversation among Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) CEO/President Steve Hill; MGM Resorts International President and CEO Bill Hornbuckle; and Keith Smith, president and CEO of leading off-Strip operator Boyd Gaming, was that Vegas remains a “category of one” with tourism remaining a “core demand” and, as shown with the 2008 global recession and the Covid pandemic, is no stranger to recovering from slowdowns.
[Related: MGM Grand Hotel and Casino Offers a Half-Century’s Worth of History in Hospitality]
“Stop,” declared Hornbuckle about the national “noise” of Vegas’ demise, adding in the company’s latest earnings call that 2025 “marked a return to a more balanced environment after several years of exceptional growth in Las Vegas.”
Viewed as a “reset baseline,” confidence in 2026 lies specifically in the group market. In its latest Meetings and Events Forecast, American Express Global Business Travel projects that Las Vegas will be the top meeting destination this year, ahead of Chicago and New York.
Credit the bullish outlook to the fully reimagined 4.6-million-square-foot Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) campus, which is on pace for a record stretch ahead, hosting an estimated 1.2 million attendees this year, up from one million in 2025.
As Aguero reminded the audience, Vegas is “the number one tradeshow destination in the United States…and not just number one, but number one by [a lot]. We have 50 of them; the next closest is Orlando with 29.”
Our walkthrough of the facility with LVCVA veteran Kevin Aivaz, senior director of convention services, revealed enhanced flow, accessibility, natural light, digital screens and architectural cohesion between the North, Central and South Halls, plus the $1-billion, 1.4-million-square-foot West Hall expansion from 2021.
Not one customer was lost throughout the $600 million project, including CES, which Vegas has hosted since 1978.
“CES demands the best in hospitality and logistical precision, and Las Vegas delivers that better than any other location,” stated CTA Executive Chair and CEO Gary Shapiro at the project’s ribbon-cutting ahead of the 2026 show. “No other place in the world can support a show of this complexity and magnitude, and no other city continues to invest so ambitiously in a better attendee experience, including this remarkable renovation of the LVCC.”
Our tour included the Las Vegas Loop underground transit system, now featuring five LVCC stations to circulate conventioneers around the 200-plus-acre campus. Property connections now include Resorts World, Encore, Westgate and Fontainebleau as work proceeds on an initial surface-level connection to Harry Reid International Airport and eventual expansion to at least 90 stops citywide.
For additional perspective, while volume was down 6% following record numbers in 2023 and 2024, the airport recorded its third-highest annual passenger total ever last year. Discussions continue for a second commercial airport as Harry Reid International, directly serving more than 170 markets, edges toward full capacity. Commencing this April, new seasonal direct service to Paris opens access to 120-plus onward markets, amplifying Vegas’ global convention and tourism reach.
Refreshing and Repositioning for Group ROI
Solving tomorrow’s transportation challenges today is just one of the ways that Las Vegas is leveraging its perpetual strategy of continual innovation, reinvention and refinement to accelerate the current rebound and recovery. While cautioning that not all announced projects may get built, Aguero identified a whopping $33 billion in future near- and long-term investments.
Exciting group market developments include a new ground-up entertainment complex at Caesars Palace as the Strip icon celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. Located directly on Las Vegas Boulevard, the new 46,000-square-foot, multilevel OMNIA Dayclub & Skybar, in collaboration with Tao Group Hospitality, is inspired by the beach clubs of St. Tropez, Ibiza, and like sun-soaked European escapes.
Scheduled for the 2026 pool season, the event-capable venue will connect directly to the existing OMNIA Nightclub via a dedicated bridge, creating a seamless 121,000-square-foot day-to-night experience. Features include world-class DJs delivering festival-level productions using next-generation technology and elevated culinary offerings.
The Colosseum at Caesars Palace continues to make waves as Billboard’s top-ranked venue in the 2,501- to 5,000-capacity category for the 17th time in the last 20 years, attracting 239,000 fans to 64 shows in 2025.
Now visually dominating the resort corridor, the highly anticipated transformation of the Mirage into Hard Rock Las Vegas is taking distinct shape. The centerpiece 42-story, 675-room Guitar Hotel recently passed the two-thirds mark as crews clad the structure and the now-gutted Mirage towers in blue-colored glass. On track for 2027 and accepting RFPs for Q1 2028, the reborn resort will offer 3,600-plus rooms, 250,000 square feet of convention space and entertainment, dining and leisure amenities galore.
[Related: The Venetian Resort Las Vegas to Get New Space for Executive Gatherings]
Treasure Island (TI) Hotel & Casino is a captivating Strip draw for its conveniently accessible group venues, backed by award-winning catering, banquet and AV staff and services. Offering 18,000 square feet of versatile meetings, convention and event space, including seven breakout rooms ranging from 600 to 11,808 square feet, TI is ideal for association, corporate, incentive, leisure, SMERF and wedding groups from 10 to 1,200-plus attendees. Located away from the casino floor, the private second-level event facilities are easily accessed from all guest room elevators.
Venetian Resort Las Vegas is finalizing a historic $1.5 billion resort-wide refresh, including the nearly complete $188-million transformation of the 2.25-million-square-foot Venetian Convention & Expo Center.
Familiar to countless groups, the broad corridor leading to the multilevel meeting rooms and convention halls is wondrous to behold, repeated throughout as work finishes, including the jaw-dropping Venetian Ballroom. The new blue carpeting is rhapsodic, with brilliant white walls and other lustrous touches creating a truly regal look complemented by new customizable digital screens and other high-tech enhancements.
We also saw one of the Venetian’s 4,000 luxuriously reimagined suites, part of the resort’s 7,000-plus key collection.
The property’s ever-evolving culinary collection includes the relocated Bazaar Meat by José Andrés and COTE, America’s first and only Michelin-starred Korean steakhouse.
Resorts World Las Vegas, which greeted our group with a welcome message on its giant mirror ball, is seeing a strong extension of its group business courtesy of its Loop station access and convenient walking proximity to the LVCC. Incorporating 3,500 rooms in three Hilton-branded hotels, the property offers 250,000 square feet of technology-driven space. Exceptional event venues include the 66th-floor Alle Lounge, with stunning panoramic views.
More luxurious trappings await at the Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas, including iconic Peacock Alley, synonymous with the brand since its 1893 launch in NYC, and Hard Shake bar and lounge on the fully transformed 23rd floor. Groups have 15,000-plus square feet of refreshed space at this inviting Strip sanctuary.
Extra-Dimension Experiential Events
Allegiant Stadium, represented by Las Vegas Raiders president Sandra Douglass Morgan at Preview Las Vegas, scored big in 2025 as Billboard ranked the 65,000-seat multipurpose venue the top-grossing stadium in the U.S. and second highest in the world for the second year running.
Offering more than 125,000 square feet of endlessly configurable open-canvas space, Allegiant Stadium has steadily evolved into an economic powerhouse since opening in 2020. According to the Las Vegas Raiders’ 2025 Impact Report, 62% of visitors came to Las Vegas specifically to attend a live sporting, music or entertainment event at the stadium, generating an estimated $1.1 billion in impact.
The pace continues in 2026 with mega-events including WrestleMania 42, which broke its contract with New Orleans to return to Vegas after last year’s high-impact event, and concerts from AC/DC, Guns N’ Roses and Foo Fighters. In January 2027, Allegiant Stadium hosts Vegas’ first-ever national college football championship game, with another Super Bowl potentially as early as 2029.
Nicki Fargas, president of the three-time WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces, joined Morgan in conversation about their respective focus on community engagement and team and organizational culture. Fargas also celebrated another three-peat for the defending champions ahead of the WNBA’s 30th season this year: a third consecutive sellout of regular home games at their “House,” the 12,000-capacity Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay, with other home tip-offs at T-Mobile Arena.
ESPN recently reported that Vegas is “heavily favored” to land an NBA expansion team this year. Major League Baseball is also in play as construction progresses on the Las Vegas A’s new 33,000-seat, nearly $2 billion ballpark on the former Tropicana site, slated for the 2028 season.
Expected to top 2024’s economic impact, last November’s third annual Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix provided a major tourism boost.
Set within the official Pit Building on the 39-acre Las Vegas Grand Prix site, the seasonal Grand Prix Plaza features 100,000-plus square feet of interactive group-ready Formula One attractions, including the high-adrenaline F1 DRIVE karting adventure and hands-on activations such as a pit stop tire change. Planners can choose from three private event venues—Turn 1 Lounge, Cooldown Room and GPP Garage—plus custom spaces on the third level and an expansive, scenic rooftop.
Just minutes from the Strip across Interstate 15, AREA15 continues to expand its experiential, dining and other immersive offerings for intimate and large-scale events. Doubled to 40 acres with the new Zone 2 area and planning for more, group-ready attractions including the new Universal Horror Unleashed; Interstellar Arc, a mind-bending virtual reality experience in a future-world space station; and 747 Plaza, featuring a Burning Man jet repurposed as a cocktail lounge and event space.
Sphere, number one in Billboard’s 15,001-plus-capacity category for the second straight year, is a transformative force for corporate keynotes, A-list residencies and custom productions such as The Wizard of Oz at Sphere, with two-million tickets sold and counting.
“The future in Las Vegas always looks bright,” said LVCVA’s Hill. “We remain the easiest product in the world to sell.”
