Hotels in Bermuda are reporting encouraging signs of higher guest numbers for the early part of summer with at least one, the Fairmont Southampton Hotel, already finding itself totally booked out on certain days.

And hoteliers believe higher profile advertising campaigns and cheaper flights are part of the reason for the greater number of bookings. Tourism Minister Ewart Brown is also optimistic Bermuda is in for a bumper season having had a look at preliminary results for April visitor numbers.

He said: ?I?ve learned that in the last weekend Bermuda was over sold and there were guests at some hotels that could not get in.

?I know that for a fact because one of the guests is a friend of mine who said the hotel he went to could not fit them in. That is a problem that we don?t mind as long as it gets fixed.

?It is a great sign for the Pop and Sizzle Season. We are delighted. We think this is a result of the team work and the advertising and the cheaper fares. The figures for April are significantly higher, in fact there has been the largest single increase in at least 10 years.?

As the US celebrated Memorial Day last weekend a large number of North Americans came to the Island for a long weekend and it resulted in a full house at the Fairmont Southampton Hotel, according to hotel manager Allan Trew.

?May has been a good month. We were sold out on May 6, completely booked out. Today we have a group who have bought the entire hotel. May is traditionally a month when we have groups booking up for conferences. We have 100 percent occupancy,? he said.

?June is also looking very good. At the moment the projection is around 92 percent occupancy. This is the first time in a long while that we have had those kind of levels.

?Bermuda is promoting itself more and people are hearing more about Bermuda. The cost of getting to Bermuda has helped. We had seen resistance when fares were $800 to $900 to fly to Bermuda, but now the fares are low to mid $400s it is affordable.?

It was a similar story elsewhere when spoke with other hoteliers who are optimistic about the summer season, pointing out higher reservations this year and a number of hotels reportedly sold out for the coming weeks.

Robin Lambert, of Coco Reefs Resort, said: ?We are very busy in June and the rest of the summer is ahead of last year.?

He explained that June is normally busy because of the boat and yacht races. Mr. Lambert was ?cautiously optimistic? for the summer.

Along with a rise in occupancy Coco Reefs has added a new restaurant menu and live entertainment on Sundays during lunch. A Happy Hour on Friday evenings is also in the works.

Weekends in June and July at Elbow Beach Hotel are mostly sold-out already. Erica Martin, spokeswoman for the hotel, said: ?We are looking really positive for summer months with most weekends sold out in June and July and August starting to full up.?

She explained at Elbow Beach, which has recently renovated and added more premier rooms, guests book two months in advance to ensure a room.

Mark Steenge, at 9 Beaches, said the resort has experienced a ?significant increase? in May and June of this year in comparison to last year.

?Because of the nature of the business we have a short booking window. It?s too early to tell for July and August but so far everything looks good?, he said.

Mr. Steenge said 9 Beaches has added air conditioning to every cabana at the resort. He also said it continues to offer ?the best water sports and casual dining in Bermuda.?

An agent for guest services at Wyndham Bermuda Resort and Spa, which reopened in March, said the resort is drawing attention from families due to the new water park and will be busy from June 1 until Labour Day.