By Tim Richardson

Fri, Oct 10, 2008 (11:25 a.m.)

The number of visitors to Las Vegas dropped 4.3 percent in August compared to a year ago.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported today that 3,211,209 people visited the city in August. That's down from 3,353,997 visitors in August 2007.

The LVCVA said 26,338,751 people have visited the city so far this year, which is down 1.5 percent from 2007.

Convention attendance dropped 22.3 percent in August compared to a year ago, while the number of conventions dropped about 7 percent.

The economic impact of those conventions dropped almost 24 percent in the past year, from more than $1 billion a year ago to about $777 million in August.

Hotel occupancy and rates also took a drop. The LVCVA reported that total occupancy in Las Vegas dropped from 91.2 percent a year ago to 88.3 percent in August. The average room rate plunged more than 15 percent, from $126.38 to $107.01.

Gaming revenue is down 9.4 percent in Clark County and 7.4 percent on the Strip.

Airline traffic is down about 10 percent, while vehicle traffic on Interstate 15 at the California border is down 5.5 percent from a year ago.

Outside of Las Vegas, visitor volume dropped 1.6 percent in Laughlin and 3.2 percent in Mesquite in the past year, the LVCVA said.