According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the amount of visitors traveling to Las Vegas has again diminished 4.3% compared with a year ago. The reasons for this new reduction in the visitation numbers are several, but probably the two most important causes are the financial crisis affecting all sectors of the U.S economic machinery and the raising fuel and transportation costs. For example, airline traffic is down about 10%, while vehicle traffic on Interstate 15 at the California border is down 5.5% , the LVCVA said.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported today that 3,211,209 people visited the city in the month of August, which is a reduction of 142788 visitors compared with August 2007. The LVCVA also revealed that 26,338,751 visitors have traveled to Las Vegas so far this year, which is down 1.5% compared with the previous year.

The number of conventions celebrated in Las Vegas went down 7% while the general attendance of this type of events also dropped a dramatic 22.3% in August compared to a year ago. The reduction on the amount of conventions also caused a 24% fall in the revenue generated by these events, going from more than $1 billion a year ago to about $777 million in August.

The Las Vegas hotels have also been considerably affected by the drop in the visitation numbers, and according to the LVCVA, the Las Vegas hotel occupancy deceased from 91.2% in 2007 to 88.3% in August. The average room rate also moved from $126.38 to $107.01 in the last year.

Finally, the LVCVA revealed that the gaming revenue also went down 9.4% in ClarkCounty and 7.4% on the Las Vegas Strip casinos.