Optimistic Tourism Minister David Allen has unveiled a raft of new initiatives to try and halt falling arrivals figures this summer.

In announcing the plan, Mr. Allen also revealed that the long-awaited Hamilton city centre hotel would start construction later this year, a new African-American marketing programme would be launched, a new advertising agency had been signed and a ‘buy-one-get-one-free' scheme was planned.

Speaking at a press conference following the Tourism Budget debate, he claimed air arrivals were beginning to pick up.

Last month they were up by 4.2 percent as compared to the same period last year. And by last week had registered a 19 percent increase over February 2001 figures.

It's the first time in at least a year that the numbers have risen two months in a row. In January 2001 air arrivals dropped by 18 percent over the previous year's figures. The following month the numbers were down by 22 percent.

But a guarded Mr. Allen told his House of Assembly colleagues yesterday that his department was not about to get complacent over this year's good news. And in an interview later, he admitted that some of the positive figures were as a result of re-bookings after post September 11 cancellations.

“No question some of it is,” Mr. Allen said. “But some of it is also ‘complements of Bermuda' (a promotional package)”, which attracted some 4,000 people. Also we picked up some business from other destinations. There's no question we moved the needle.”

Compared to 2000, air arrivals fell 44 percent in September last year - mainly due to the attacks on the United States that month.

October was also hard hit - with a 40 percent drop and by November the comparative decline in the numbers was 25 percent.

But by December the plunge had slowed to just six percent. Mr. Allen also shared figures, from the Caribbean Tourism Organisation, which showed that the global decline in tourism prior to September last year did not hit Bermuda as badly as it did its competitors. In August 2001, arrivals were down just 1.9 percent from the same time last year. But others fared worse - Aruba was down three percent, Cancun 7.1 percent, Martinique 16.2 percent and St. Kitt's- Nevis' air arrivals declined 39.5 percent.

Mr. Allen revealed a raft of new initiatives that are planned to come online this year, including a marketing push for African American tourists, a multi-lingual website, a “Neo Soul Music Festival” and Black Celebrity Golf Tournament. And Bermuda will be the first country to have a “national concierge” for the whole country. The national concierge will have an online presence, as well as a physical presence on the Island, and it is planned to have Bermudians on board ships to give information directly to visitors about what's available on the Island.

“We will get rid of some of the spin that happens now and we'll have a Bermudian representative on the ships that can talk about what the sightseeing opportunities are, what the shopping opportunities are,” he said at a press conference later.

The Tourism Ministry also plans to start a meetings and conventions division to have a presence in regional offices abroad and on the Island.

And a new regional office will be opened in Washington, DC in preparation for US Airways new route from the nation's capital.

“We will be doing some major promotions in Washington,” Mr. Allen said.

The minister said that the targets for the department's three year business plan was visitors between 36 and 65 years of age with an average income of $135,000 a year.

Another target was to increase the bed count by 500 beds by 2004. This year should see 174 new beds come online, Mr. Allen said.

The plan had been developed over two years of consultation with the private sector. He said the plan identified “a comfortable carrying load” for the Island of between 600,000 and 650,000 people a year, of which 200,000 will be cruise ship visitors.

The numbers of cruise ship visitors should approach 200,000, this year, he said.

He said a new seven-storey hotel would start construction later this year in Hamilton and would take 30 months to complete. In addition, people who stay for seven nights or more, can have their companion fly for free. He said New York-based advertising agency J. Walter Thompson had been replaced by Arnold McGrath, also of New York City.