Tourism officials in Las Vegas say visitor volume was down 8 percent in February from the same month one year ago, with convention attendance down nearly 35 percent.
Recently-released data from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority said 2.9 million visitors came to Las Vegas in February, compared with 3.1 million visitors in February 2008.
The numbers show that about 1,700 conventions and meetings were held in the month, 15.7 percent fewer than the same month one year ago.
The agency says visitor volume is down 10 percent for the first two months of 2009 compared with January and February of 2008, with convention attendance down nearly 29 percent.
The average hotel room price is down 21.5 percent to nearly $102 per night this year.
Chamber of Commerce lays off workers
The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce says it has laid off about one dozen workers — 20 percent of its staff — because of a decline in membership and sponsorships.
Chamber spokeswoman Cara Roberts said Tuesday that the cuts also are a projection of how its board expects the economy to perform.
The chamber had 58 employees before the cuts.
Roberts says the layoffs came from across the organization.
Severance packages for the workers include two weeks of pay plus an additional week of pay for each year of work.
Roberts has said the 6,550-member chamber is down about 250 members from a year ago.
