Visitors arriving in Hawaii by air and cruise ship dropped by 16.6 percent last month compared to last March, continuing a slump in the state's No. 1 industry that also dragged down spending.

Spending by visitors who arrived by air fell 24.4 percent or $258.4 million in March from a year earlier to $800.1 million, according to a report released today by state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

The number of visitors arriving by air fell 17.2 percent to 541,714. Average daily visitor spending fell to $163 per person from from $180 per person in March 2008.

Arrivals were down from most major market areas with one small bright spot. For the first time since May of last year, the number of visitors arriving by air from Japan rose slightly — by 0.6 percent.

However, visitor days for air and cruise visitors in March 2009 were down 16.2 percent from March a year ago. The average length of stay by these visitors was 9.04 days, up slightly from 9 days last March.

Among the top four visitor markets, air arrivals from the U.S. West fell 22.7 percent while arrivals by air from the U.S. East decreased 20 percent compared to March 2008. Air arrivals from Japan rose slightly by 0.6 percent, the first increase since May 2008 when it rose 0.3 percent. Canadian air arrivals fell 3.8 percent from the same month last year.

Year-to-date, arrivals by air totaled 1.6 million, down 14.4 percent compared to the same period last year. The average daily spending was $170 per person, down from $179 per person from first quarter 2008.