Sin City Sees 4.4 Percent Visitor Plunge in 2008

Business Week reports that Las Vegas tourism officials say almost  37.5 million people visited Las Vegas in 2008, down 4.4 percent compared with a year earlier. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has also reported double-digit drops for the year in hotel room rates, conventions and meetings held, and in the number of air passengers using McCarran International Airport. Authority statistics chief Kevin Bagger says the year-end data reflects a drop in travel and tourism amid the nationwide housing crisis, credit market woes, wide swings in fuel prices and rising unemployment.