Las Vegas City Wire

A University of Nevada, Las Vegas consumer behavior and hospitality expert has shared her predictions on 2022 gift-giving, travel, entertainment and shopping habits.

According to a press release provided by the school, with inflation creeping into every product that consumers buy, Amanda Belarmino, a professor of hospitality at UNLV, predicts that there will be a fall in holiday travel and gift-giving that will be countered by spending binges brought on by people willing to revel in the holiday spirit.  

“So far, spending patterns aren’t following the previous logical patterns for inflation responses,” Belarmino said in the release. “The holiday shopping season should really help us understand how consumers are responding to inflation and potential recession issues.”

The economic future of Las Vegas this winter looks more prosperous than other tourist destinations in the country as the city ranks only behind Disney’s entertainment parks in Florida and California in terms of popularity, according to AAA's travel forecast.

“We’re going to see some interesting trends," Belarmino said. "Especially for Las Vegas, we’re in a good position for holidays going forward because we’ve reinvented ourselves from being a gaming destination to an entertainment destination. And I think that has helped us to capture some holiday market that we never had before the pandemic. People who were only coming to Las Vegas for New Year’s Eve are now adding Thanksgiving and Christmas to their list.”