By Kyle Peterson
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - An economic recession in the United States may mean fewer people will take vacations and leisure travel operators will have to cater more for consumers seeking deals.
Gambling and luxury travel hub Las Vegas has seen some weakness at the low end, but foreigners capitalizing on the cheap dollar and U.S. vacationers unable to afford a trip abroad will help soften the impact, industry executives say.
Online travel agencies could also suffer if travel declines but get better negotiating power with hotels more eager to rent rooms.
"I wouldn't say we're immune to what goes on around us. I think our business model is a little more resilient," Daniel D'Arrigo, chief financial officer at MGM Mirage, the world's second-largest casino operator, said at the Reuters Travel and Leisure Summit in Los Angeles on Monday.
Recent economic data points to a slowing U.S. economy, increasing the risk of a recession.
"It's hard to ignore a lot of the bad news that's out there," D'Arrigo said. "Clearly the consumer is a little bit stressed."
He said some businesses on the Las Vegas Strip have already seem some erosion in demand for lower-end offerings.
One way to avoid potential damage to U.S. hotel and casino business is to market aggressively to travelers from Europe who may be less impacted by U.S. economic softness, he said. Continued...
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