he aimed for.

The Hon. C.V. (Jim) Woolridge set himself a target of a 10 percent rise over 1993.

But he has now declared a upswing of under five percent would be welcome.

"Even if I have to settle for an increase closer to 4.7 percent, which is what my technical officers in the Ministry tell me is a more realistic goal, I still think we will have acquitted ourselves well.'' Figures up to June 19 show 178,940 visitors have flown to Bermuda this year.

This is a five percent increase on the same period in 1993.

Government has also released detailed figures for April, which show air arrivals slipped 4.1 percent to 38,992 -- the first decline this year.

The number of visitors from the United States -- Bermuda's main market -- dropped by 7.6 percent.

Nevertheless, the Bermuda Hotel Association recorded an increase in the length of stay of visitors from 4.5 nights to 4.6 nights.

Cruise ship arrivals, meanwhile, rose 6.1 percent to 10,476.

Mr. Woolridge, however, warned "raw visitor numbers'' were only one measure on Bermuda's tourism performance.

"What is important is how much visitors spend. That depends on the number of rooms available, the occupancy of each hotel and, of course, the rate that hotel rooms can demand.

"The practice of discounting the price of hotel rooms may fill beds all rights, but it does not fill pockets.

"We are also affected by the fact that the number of hotel beds available to tourists in our inventory has declined by over 1,000 beds during the last five years or so, which represents a significant loss of earning power.'' Mr. Woolridge, however, stressed Bermuda had ridden the recession better than some competitors.

He coupled the statement with a call for Bermudians to do more for visitors.

"I don't mean in terms of price, I mean in terms of the quality of their vacation.''