Leisure visitors felt safer and more welcome in the fall of 2007 than they did in 2006, according to research.

The Department of Tourism provided The Royal Gazette parts of its September and October Air Arrival Exit Survey which looked at areas including leisure visitor satisfaction.

Bermudians' friendly nature and the level of hospitality was an important factor in deciding to come to Bermuda, 22 percent of leisure visitors said it was a major reason they came, up three percent from last year and up 14 percent from 2003.

And after staying on the Island, 82 percent of leisure visitors left saying they were completely satisfied with the Island's hospitality, up from 53 percent of leisure visitors in 2006.

Safety was another important factor in deciding to come to Bermuda. In the fall period of 2007, 65 percent of people said it was the main reason they chose Bermuda, and 81 percent of leisure visitors left saying they were completely satisfied with the level of "personal safety" in 2007.

In 2006 only 38 percent of visitors said personal safety was critically important when they chose Bermuda and 52 percent of leisure visitors left saying they were completely satisfied with the level of personal safety in Bermuda.

Overall satisfaction rates remained the same as in 2006. In the fall of 2007, 76 percent of leisure visitors left completely satisfied with their stay while 21 percent said they were mostly satisfied.

No one reported dissatisfaction with their stay and only two percent said they were mostly dissatisfied with their stay.

The exit survey also noted that Bermuda continues to attract repeat visitors, with more than 60 percent of visitors reporting that they have been to Bermuda before.

"The same top-five factors continued to be mentioned by leisure visitors as considerations in their choice of Bermuda as a vacation destination," the report stated.

"However, this fall, the climate, the beauty of the Island and a previous experience are all more commonly mentioned than they were in the past four years."

However, the Exit Survey also contradicted previous statistics about leisure air arrivals.

Last week The Royal Gazette reported that the month of September saw a 4.6 percent rise in leisure visitors, while October saw a 5.4 percent drop compared to 2006, based on the monthly Visitor Profile Report calculated from HM Customs.

The data also revealed that as a percentage of overall air arrivals leisure visitors fell by four percent from 63 percent in September and October 2007 and 67 percent during the same period in 2006.

A different set of statistics, compiled by Total Marketing & Communications and Corporate Research Associates Inc. for the Department of Tourism, showed the opposite.

It calculated that for the two month period leisure visitors accounted for 67 percent of overall air arrivals in 2007 and 61 percent in 2006.

The information was gathered in an Exit Survey conducted between September 1 and October 31 which quizzed 441 people. The survey has a 4.7 percent margin of error.