Bermuda saw a record breaking number of visitors to the Island in 2007.

And the Premier Ewart Brown said he was confident tourism would continue to move forward with the arrival of new low-cost air flights and the intention of receiving approved destination status in China.

At a news conference yesterday Dr. Brown, who is also the Minister of Tourism, released the year end results for tourism.

He said: "Simply put, 2007 was a very solid year for Bermuda Tourism, as the numbers will show.

"In fact, I am thrilled to tell you that at year end, overall arrivals for 2007 set another record as the highest amount of total visitors to the island on record. Now that's something worthy of celebrating!

"In 2007, Bermuda received a total of 663,767 visitors. This is an increase of 3.44 percent from the 641,717 visitors who arrived in 2006.

"Total air arrivals reached a 7 year high with 305,548 visitors arriving on island in 2007, up 2.2% from the 298,973 visitors in 2006."

Meanwhile an Airport Exit Survey showed that the estimated total air visitor expenditure had risen by approximately $50 million, Dr. Brown said.

Hotel occupancy was also up, although there were 245 less beds in 2007 due to hotel closures — which is why hotel occupancy tax was $1 million lower in the 2007 financial year than in 2006.

And Dr. Brown said he believed 2008 was shaping up to be another good year for tourism. He announced Zoom would be starting its twice-weekly service from Bermuda in two weeks.

Due to serious delays last summer caused by congestion at the JFK airport in New York, Zoom has decided to link its twice-weekly Bermuda services from London through Toronto and Fort Lauderdale.

Dr. Brown said: "The airline will offer one flight each week from Toronto, ideally scheduled for Canadian visitors spending a long weekend in Bermuda and thereby challenging Air Canada's long-standing monopoly on that route.

"The second flight each week will be linked through to Fort Lauderdale, offering Bermudians an ideal schedule for trips to Florida."

He added that arrivals from London have grown by 20 percent since Zoom's arrival on the route last June, while British Airways had not seen a change in their passenger numbers.

Meanwhile the Premier said he was still trying to lure Chinese visitors to the Island by making Bermuda an approved destination.

In October Dr. Brown visited Beijing to attended the World Tourism Summit and met with several key Government representatives as well as Chinese media outlets.

In order for Chinese nationals to visit Bermuda it must be on an approved destination list made by their Government.

It can take up to three years to get the approval of the Chinese Government but Dr. Brown said he believed his visit put Bermuda in good stead. He said: "Our new goal is to obtain approved destination status by the end of this calender year."

Another tourism success through 2007 was the international coverage the Island received. Throughout the year it was featured by ABC, MSNBC, USA Today, Washington Post and New York Post.

Bermuda's PR agency Corbin & Associates estimated that the total value of coverage in international media was worth approximately $16 million.