Though domestic travel to Los Angeles International Airport was down this summer, it doesn’t mean fewer visitors came to L.A. it just means fewer visitors flew into LAX.

“Burbank, John Wayne Airport and Ontario could be having an influence on that,” said Eric Maryanov, owner of All-Travel.com, an L.A.-based travel agency. “If you were a traveler and you had direct service to an airport closer to your destination, why bother going to LAX?”

Domestic travel to LAX fell 3.4 percent in June and 3.1 percent in July compared with the like periods last year, according to Los Angeles World Airports, which operates the facility. Meanwhile, Ontario International Airport saw a 4.4 percent increase in July, while Long Beach Airport rose 6.3 percent. Burbank’s Bob Hope Airport was up 8.1 percent for June, the latest numbers available.

One reason for the drop at LAX was that fewer flights were coming in. “Domestic flights to LAX have been reduced due to the increase in fuel prices,” said LAWA spokeswoman Nancy Castles. “That has helped the airlines ensure there are more people per plane, but it’s reduced the number of seats available.”

That’s coupled with the strong presence of discount carriers JetBlue Airways Corp. and Southwest Airlines Co. at Long Beach and Burbank.

Meanwhile, hotel occupancy in Los Angeles County reached 81.5 percent in July, up from 78.5 percent for the like period a year earlier, according to Smith Travel Research. June occupancy was also up from a year earlier.

“I can’t tell if they’re flying to another airport and driving in, but I do know that a higher percentage of visitors are traveling by car,” said David Sheatsley, vice president of research for L.A. Inc., the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. “We haven’t really seen an impact of higher gas prices on that.”