Vegas wonders where the world went

At the upscale Joyful House restaurant in Las Vegas’ Chinatown, it used to be common for tourists or convention-goers from Japan, Hong Kong and China to drop $300 apiece on a seafood feast.

But there is a lot less joy in the dining room today. The big spenders have disappeared.

Business during the usually robust Chinese New Year was off 35% from 2008, said manager Stanley Ma. The restaurant has reduced employees’ hours and whittled bills for tour groups. In recent weeks, it began advertising lobster -- for 50% off.

Las Vegas had hoped that international visitors -- a bright spot for much of 2008 -- would ease the pain of the recession because they typically stay longer and spend more than U.S. travelers.

But in November, international arrivals to the U.S. slipped almost 9% from 2007, according to the Department of Commerce. The number of visitors from Canada, Mexico and Britain slumped; those countries supply about 75% of Las Vegas’ foreign tourists. Arrivals from Asian countries dropped almost 14%.

In December, gaming revenue on the Strip plunged more than 23%. Casinos have shed thousands of jobs. Wynn Resorts, whose Las Vegas hotels are favorites of high rollers, recently announced cost-cutting measures.

In recent years, casinos worked to entice free-spending Asians by opening authentic Far East restaurants with noodle chefs and feng shui decor, and by hiring singers and comedians popular in China and Japan. Although some Asian high rollers are still arriving, tour operators are groaning.

David Huang, whose company, Chinese Hosts Inc., runs bus tours, books rooms and plans meetings, said his bookings had dropped 50%; most days, many of his 15 buses are idle. Instead of making $10,000 a month, he’s losing about $5,000.

“I just hope we can live through it,” he said.

Birch Yeh, a manager at Lion Travel in Los Angeles, said his company used to take 30 to 35 Taiwanese groups each month to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas, where they sightsee on the Strip, enjoy dinner and go to shows. The number of groups has shrunk to as few as 15 a month. Yeh blamed the global recession and the strengthening dollar.

“When people come here, they spend money,” he said, “but nobody’s coming.”

On the Strip, revenue from baccarat -- the preferred way to gamble for many Asian high rollers -- fell 49% in the fourth quarter of 2008, to $156.3 million, said Frank Streshley, senior financial analyst for the Nevada Gaming Control Board. Pai gow poker, another favorite of international bettors, tumbled 43.6%.

At Tao, the Venetian resort’s multistory, Asian-themed nightclub, “if you came in on a Thursday, you wouldn’t realize the world economy is in shambles,” said Howard Schwartz, a VIP host whose clients include jet-setting foreigners. “Top-end people will always be in Vegas.”

But high-end customers are visiting less frequently and asking more questions when they do, particularly about big-ticket bottle service.

“It’s affecting everybody, from the multimillionaire to the middle class,” Schwartz said.

The first quarter of 2009 looks bleak, according to a widely used survey of tourism professionals. About 91% of Canadian, 100% of Mexican and 70% of British respondents said bookings were at least slightly down. German bookings rose, but experts said German tourists tended to plan trips further ahead.

Even more worrisome: Ipsos, a market research firm, recently surveyed thousands of people from 22 countries, including China, South Korea and Japan. Fewer than half of Chinese respondents described their economy as very or somewhat good -- down from about 90% in April 2007 -- and 80% had pared back spending. About 73% of all international respondents said they were curtailing vacations.

The effect is notable in Las Vegas at Asian restaurants across the price spectrum.

A manager at Banana Leaf, a casual Chinese eatery at the Riviera Hotel and Casino, said New Year’s business was off 40%. About a third of customers are from China and Hong Kong.

At Joyful House, tables used to turn over at least four times during dinner. Now twice is the norm.

Diners fill out cards saying what company they work for and what convention they are attending. Companies that once flew in 20 people now send maybe eight, and the smaller groups have scaled back on pricey live lobster and crab.

“Everybody says we just have to get through this year,” said Ma, the manager. “We don’t know what will happen, but we’re hopeful.”

Last summer, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority bumped its number of foreign offices from eight to 12 and expanded how many countries it targets. Its message is tweaked by region; some areas were only recently introduced to the marketing slogan “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.”

With the dollar strengthening and the credit crunch going global, “we’re looking for bright spots around the world,” said John Bischoff, the authority’s vice president of international brand strategy.

Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters and Scenic Airlines -- where about 40% of passengers are foreigners -- offers tours in Russian, Japanese, Mandarin and Cantonese, among other languages, and has pursued Indian business at industry shows.

Foreign visitors are slashing their spending, said Robert Graff, vice president of corporate marketing, so the company recently introduced two Grand Canyon packages that are about $50 cheaper than the average trip.

At Caesars Palace, among the first casinos to wrap itself in red and gold for Chinese New Year, international travelers have grown to about 10% of its guests, said Gary Selesner, the company’s president. Selesner said the hotel, whose Roman columns were hidden by red lanterns, fresh tulips and gold coins for the holiday, plans to target Asian customers more aggressively.

He was pleased with New Year’s business at two new Chinese restaurants. The red banner at the entrance to one of them, Beijing Noodle No. 9, expresses in Chinese a particularly timely wish: “We want our business to grow, to go to four seas.”

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ashley.powers@latimes.com

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

When they come, they live it up

About 1 visitor in 10 to Las Vegas is from a foreign country, but international visitors have an outsized effect on the city’s tourist industry because they spend more than U.S. travelers. They also tend to stay longer.

Average expenditure, 2007*

Food/drink

Foreign visitors: $359

All visitors: $255

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Shopping

Foreign visitors: $281

All visitors: $183

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Shows

Foreign visitors: $139

All visitors: $107

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Sightseeing

Foreign visitors: $262

All visitors: $190

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Will they return?

Foreign visitors

Definitely/probably return: 28%

Definitely/probably not return: 55%

Uncertain: 17%

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All visitors

Definitely/probably return: 68%

Definitely/probably not return: 16%

Uncertain: 16%

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*Latest year available

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Source: Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Graphics reporting by

Tom Reinken.

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Lorraine Wang Los Angeles Times