Fewer cruise ships will come to Bermuda in 2008, but those that do come will stay longer.

Speaking at a news conference on Thursday, Dr. Brown, who is also the Minister of Tourism said: "As Bermuda moves to keep pace with industry trends and to retain market share we will shift our focus to the west end.

"In managing this transition there will be a planned reduction in the number of cruise arrivals in 2008. It is projected that there will be 283,462 cruise visitors, down from the 354,024 in 2007.

"The decrease in the number of cruise arrivals will be offset by the increase in the length of stay. In 2008, 81 percent of the cruise arrivals will be staying for two or more days versus 67 percent in 2007.

"Historical feedback from stakeholders such as the Chamber of Commerce suggested that Bermuda had not been realising full benefit from the one day cruise visitors."

Previously many ships have stopped into the Island for one day which meant visitors only had time to visit the beach or take a tour of one the Island's historic towns. Research showed that few visitors on these ships had time to shop or experience the night life.

Dr. Brown said: "We are confident that the longer stay cruise visitor will contribute more to our economy than the shorter stay visitors."

Extra busses and ferries will also be put on to ensure that the Dockyard based tourists can get to Hamilton for shopping dining and Wednesday Harbour Nights — something Chamber of Commerce executive vice president Diane Gordon publicly thanked Dr. Brown for.

The Norwegian Cruise Line's terms have also changed, this will result in a three-day midweek call in Dockyard providing the West End with more overnight ships.

NCL will also deploy two ships to St. George's and in 2009, NCL will deploy an additional ship to Dockyard which will utilise the brand new cruise pier.

Dr. Brown said: "It should be noted that any future increases to the overall cruise arrivals will be balanced in accordance with the increase in bed capacity."