As someone outside the US, I think the cost of Las Vegas is only a small aspect of the slump. When you factor in the cost of flights and other destinations you may be visiting, Vegas being expensive is often only driving up the total trip cost proportionately.
There have been several situations in the last 12 months where the desire to go to the US (and Vegas, in this case, for conferences) just isn't there, as we are hearing so many terrible stories about travellers being harassed or unwelcome when trying to enter the US, due to the current Government. Anecdotally, this has been the reason I've heard from Canadians who are also considering travel to the same conferences.
> we are hearing so many terrible stories about travellers being harassed or unwelcome when trying to enter the US
There have been a few stories like that, but that is not a new thing. The US has been horrible to incoming tourists for a long time. You get treated like a criminal just for wanting to visit. I've got a few of stories of my own like that, going back decades.
Chalk this up to revulsion with the US president and his actions, across approximately the rest of the world.
There have been several situations in the last 12 months where the desire to go to the US (and Vegas, in this case, for conferences) just isn't there, as we are hearing so many terrible stories about travellers being harassed or unwelcome when trying to enter the US, due to the current Government. Anecdotally, this has been the reason I've heard from Canadians who are also considering travel to the same conferences.