Las Vegas sees 10 percent drop in visitors

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The number of visitors to Las Vegas dropped 10 percent in September compared to the same month last year.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority said 2,936,499 people visited the city in September. That's down from 3,268,125 visitors in September 2007.

The number of visitors to the city is down 2.5 percent through the first nine months of the year compared to the same period last year.

The LVCVA said the number of conventions held in Las Vegas in September dropped nearly 18 percent, with the economic impact of those conventions falling more than 8 percent compared to last year, from about $519 million to $476 million.

Hotel occupancy levels dropped 7 percent, from 91.3 percent in September 2007 to 84.3 percent in September 2008. The average rate of those rooms fell 21 percent, from $142.47 to $112.58, the LVCVA said.

Clark County gaming revenue was down nearly 3 percent compared to last September.

Air traffic is down 13 percent in the past year. The traffic count on Interstate 15 at the Nevada/California state line has fallen nearly 9 percent.

Outside of Las Vegas, visitor volume fell more than 13 percent in Laughlin this past September, and dropped nearly 39 percent in Mesquite.