Air visitor spending plunged in the third quarter of 2003, largely because of the drop in arrivals after Hurricane Fabian struck the Island on September 5.

The Quarterly Bulletin of Statistics for the three months ending on September 30, 2003 revealed that air visitor spending in the period fell 28 percent from 115.8 million in the third quarter of 2002 to $83.2 million.

The Bulletin, released yesterday, also reported that spending on accommodation and food fell by 50 percent.

"This lower level of spending directly reflected the downturn in air visitors during the quarter who generally purchase hotel packages, which are inclusive of the accommodation cost and a meal plan," the Bulletin said.

It added that spending on shopping, entertainment, transport and sightseeing increased by $6 million in the quarter.

The drop in spending ? a key figure for gauging the health of the tourism industry ? reflected the drop in air arrivals for the quarter.

The temporary closure of the Airport and the longer term closures of major properties like the Fairmont Southampton Princess and the Sonesta Beach Hotel after Fabian resulted in air visitors falling ten percent across the board to 82,219 compared to the same period in 2002.

US visitors, who comprise the largest segment of visitors to the Island, fell by 10.4 percent compared to 2002 while visitors from Canada and the UK fell by 10.5 percent and 2.1 percent respectively.

Cruise ship arrivals increased by 23 percent to 116,821 in the quarter, accounting for 59 percent of all visitors. Much of the increase was due to seven weekend visits by the mega-ship

Cruise visitor spending rose by $4.7 million to $26.2 million in the period, but was not enough to offset the plunge in air visitor spending.