Coronavirus Set to Squeeze Lunar New Year Tourist Shopping Boom

Were it any other year, Las Vegas would be bracing for one of its busiest convention and retail seasons. But with a new viral outbreak coming out of China and would-be West Coast tourists unwilling or unable to travel, uncertainty is marking a usually expectant mood. Chinese New Year, or Lunar New Year, is one of that nation’s biggest holidays and one where millions of people travel, domestically and internationally, to dine and shop for a few days or even weeks. Locales like Los Angeles and Las Vegas are very popular for Chinese tourism, with California as a whole each year drawing millions more than New York.  Vegas in particular relies on tourists to drive its economy of hospitality, casinos and shopping, and visitors from China in 2018 made up more than 4 percent of its 5.8 million international visitors, while those from Asian countries altogether made up just under 14 percent, according to the most current statistics from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Chinese visitors came in third behind the U.K. and Australia for most overseas visitors. Last year, the LVCVA said it expected even more tourists from China to hit the city. But according to its own estimates, updated

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