The Department of Tourism believes more people will holiday on the Island this summer than in 2009.

Cheaper air fares and aggressive hotel promotions have seen bookings rise, said Premier Ewart Brown.

Air arrivals were down ten percent for the first three months of 2010, the Tourism Minister stated.

Despite that fall, tourist expenditure remained constant. Dr. Brown said that tourists spent between $23 and $29 million on the Island during the first quarter of 2009; Government's Visitor Exit Survey estimates they spent between $26 and $29 million during that period this year.

The Premier expressed optimism that this summer would see more travellers to the Island than the same period in 2009.

Last year was one of the worst on record for air arrivals to Bermuda. In total, 235,860 tourists flew to the Island a ten percent drop compared to 2008 and a 52 percent drop compared to arrivals 30 years ago when 491,035 visitors flew to the Island. The Premier said: "All tourism-related businesses are likely already experiencing what the hotels' advanced bookings are indicating for quarter two.

"The months of May, June and July are showing signs of life and are trending very positively compared to previous year. We anticipate very tangible improvement in business in the next few months."

Dr. Brown said he believed this was due to the "aggressive partnerships" between the Department of Tourism and hotels, particularly when it came to hotel promotions.

"The department has consistently stuck with the game plan of encouraging cheaper air fares with attractive hotel promotions, while at the same time investing its dollars in raising awareness for Bermuda, even in this challenging period," he said. "The all important group market segment is also showing some signs of life and the department will continue to support the efforts of the hotels as they attempt to win back this key contributor to hotel occupancies."

In particular the 'Sizzling Summer' deal has resulted in 15,000 room nights being booked, he said. The deal offered tourists between $400 and $600 off their hotel bill if they booked a holiday for this summer.

The Premier added that online travel booking websites are also reporting increased bookings. Dr. Brown said Expedia was pacing 93 percent ahead of its 2009 production while Orbitz is 60 percent ahead and Travelocity is 21 percent ahead.

When it came to airline seats, Dr. Brown said: "US airline carrier loads are trending very positively, at least till the fall of this year. JetBlue Airways has reported great improvement in leisure traffic, both out of New York and Boston.

"In the UK, BA Holidays has already doubled their production on previous year and they are the number one producer from this market.

"British Airways, despite the major challenges with ash and union negotiations, is also reporting solid double digit increases for this summer.

"We have seen the launch of Westjet service out of Toronto on May 3, and early indications are that bookings are really encouraging. We consider Canada as our single biggest opportunity for growth in the coming year and this will clearly be reflected in the sales, advertising and promotional support that will be directed to this market."