Posted on: September 30, 2025, 03:04h.
Last updated on: September 30, 2025, 03:04h.
- Travel experts hope the US government avoids a shutdown
- A shutdown could further hurt the Las Vegas tourism industry
Congress continues to work in the Capitol to avoid a shutdown of the federal government tonight at midnight EST.
Congress must pass a funding bill by Oct. 1, the start of the federal government’s fiscal year, to keep the country running. As has been the case in several recent years, political gridlock in Washington, DC, has led to many short-term continuing resolutions (CRs) to keep the government running and funded temporarily. However, the federal government did shutter in 2018 for 35 days, impacting some 800K federal employees.
Only hours remain before Congress must get a spending bill or CR to President Donald Trump’s desk to keep the federal government operating as normal. If it doesn’t, and a shutdown occurs, tourism could be impacted.
While TSA agents and air traffic controllers are considered essential employees, they work without pay during a shutdown. Once the government is back up and running and fully funded, essential workers will receive back pay for their time worked.
How Shutdown Could Impact Travel
A short federal government shutdown wouldn’t overly impact tourism and Las Vegas. But if a longer shutdown persists — and with Republicans and Democrats having stark odds over critical funding measures, that’s a real possibility — tourism could be hampered.
That’s according to Geoff Freeman, the president and CEO of the US Travel Association. Freeman was the president and CEO of the American Gaming Association, the trade group representing the interests of the commercial and tribal casino industries in Washington, from 2013 until 2018. His tenure saw the US Supreme Court repeal the federal sports betting ban.
The longer a shutdown drags on, the more likely we are to see longer TSA lines, flight delays, and cancellations,” Freeman said. “Nearly nine in 10 Americans agree Congress should work together to prevent a shutdown. Americans deserve better — lawmakers must act before October 1 to keep our government funded and protect jobs, travelers, and our economy.”
The tourism expert said the longer a shutdown runs, the likelier it is that some federal workers will not report to work out of worries that their time won’t ultimately be compensated. A 2019 law, however, mandates that Congress back-pay all hours worked to federal employees during a government shutdown.
The US Travel Association forecasts that the domestic travel economy would lose $1 billion every week of a government shutdown, affecting millions of travelers and businesses.
Las Vegas Reeling
Southern Nevada is already amid a tourism slump. Visitor volume in Las Vegas is down almost 8% through August compared with 2024. Harry Reid International has welcomed 4.5% fewer air travelers this year through August, a difference of more than 1.76 million passengers at Las Vegas’ primary airport.
According to Tourism Economics, 60% of Americans said they would cancel or avoid trips by air in the event of a government shutdown. More than eight in 10 (81%) think federal government shutdowns hurt the economy, and 86% said such shutdowns bring inconveniences to air travelers.
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