Visitor arrivals posted a solid gain in February from the same month a year earlier. Leap year's extra day helped inflate the numbers, but arrivals were still up modestly even with the added day factored out.

Arrivals rose 5.9 percent to 603,689, according to a report released today by the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. Excluding the extra day from leap year, arrivals rose 2.8 percent.

Of the total visitor arrivals in February 592,889 came by air, 5.6 percent more than in the same month last year. Another 10,800 visitors arrived by ship, a 22.5 percent increase from a year ago.

Spending by visitors who arrived by air rose to $1 billion, a 5.2 percent increase from a year earlier. Average daily spending fell slightly to $179.50 per person from $180.90 per person last February.

Among the top four visitor markets, arrivals were up 31.5 percent from Canada, up 4.3 percent from the U.S. East, up 1.9 percent from the U.S. West and down 3.2 percent from Japan.