Bermuda tourism should continue to recover this year, according to the latest visitor profile from the Department of Tourism.

The profile, for December last year, does not take into account any possible adverse fallout from the current crisis in the Middle East. It draws optimism from visitor exit surveys which showed that tourists are spending more overall and some are staying on the Island slightly longer than in 2001.

The number of air visitors grew 300 to 12,397 in December, compared to the same month in 2001, a 2.5 percent increase, the report says. Private clubs and housekeeping apartments were the sole beneficiaries of that increase in terms of accommodation type. They registered 16.5 percent and 18.8 percent increase in clientele respectively, but the housekeeping apartments were 16.6 percent down on the yearly total.

All other accommodation types showed fewer visitors in December last year compared to the previous year. Leading that plunge were properties with 12 beds or less, which showed a 41.8 percent decline in visitors or a drop from 122 to 71 in December last year. Guest houses came next with an 8.6 percent decline, from 93 to 85 visitors, followed by small hotels which reported a 6.2 percent decline, from 1,361 to 1,277 visitors.

Cottage colonies also had fewer guests, 809, for the month of December, down from 844 the previous year. On average air visitors spent $1,400 each, an extra $100 most of it (80 percent) on accommodations and dining.

Air visitor spending for the year is being estimated at between $360 million and $390 million. The December visitors stayed an average of 8.2 nights, as compared to 8.1 nights for the same month in 2001. Much of that increase came from people who stayed in guest houses where the average stay was 5.6 night compared to 5.2 nights in 2001, and cottage colonies which registered an average stay of 6.9 nights compared to 6.6 nights in 2001. Average stay for the year remained the same overall.

Total cruise shop passengers for the year increased 20,105, or 11.2 percent over 2001. They spent about $31.4 million, or an average of $157 each on the Island - money which went directly to local merchants.

An additional $12 million in taxes were spent in direct taxes, the report says, bringing the total spend to $43 million.

"Although this seems significantly less than the average air visitor, it should be noted that the typical cruise passenger spends more on shore excursions and transport services than the air visitor.

"Therefore it is vital that Bermuda remains active in the cruise market. To that end, 2003 will see the first weekend ship in the Island for several years."

The number of visiting yachtsmen declined by 5.3 percent in December, but the overall amount (5,654) increased by 37.7 percent compared to the total for the whole of 2001 (4,106).