Precipitated by a 1.8-percent drop in the number of air arrivals, Bermuda's resort hotels, cottage colonies and guest houses catered to roughly 2,100 fewer visitors between April and June than they did during the same period last year, quarterly Government figures show.

And the hotel industry, which employed some 4,182 people in the second quarter of 1993, saw a 2.1-percent decrease in the number of workers on its payrolls this year, the Statistics Department said.

Air arrivals in the second quarter of 1994 totalled 136,224, a fall of 1.8 percent from the 1993 total of 138,743.

This led to a drop in occupancy levels at "all major types of commercial accommodations'' and a decrease in the number of hotel workers from 4,182 in the second quarter of 1993 to 4,095 during the same period this year.

Hotels and cottage colonies were reported to have lodged some 1,400 fewer guests than they did last year, while "housekeeping units experienced an absolute decline of nearly 700 guests.'' The cruise ship season, on the other hand, "opened on a strong note,'' with 63,929 passengers visiting the Island during the second quarter of the year.

This represented a 7.4-percent increase over the second quarter of 1993, when 59,539 people came to Bermuda by ship.

On the same note, a total of 58 cruise ship visits were made during the second quarter, compared to 50 visits in the second quarter last year.

While here, cruise ship visitors spent an estimated $16.7 million between April and June -- 9.9 percent more than $15.2 million that were spent in 1993.

Expenditure by air arrivals, meanwhile, rose by 5.4 percent, from $156.3 million during last year's second quarter to $164.7 million this year.

In other news, the annual rate of change in the price of consumer goods and services declined fractionally between April and June, from 2.3 percent in the second quarter of 1993 to 2.2 percent this year.

At the same time, quarterly retail sales rose 1.8 percent over last year, with the highest increases reported by car dealers and service stations (a rise of 3.8 percent), liquor stores (3.6 percent) and food sellers (1.3 percent).

The retail sector as a whole had an estimated gross turnover of $127.5 million, the Statistics Department said.

Residents who returned to the Island from vacation and business trips abroad, meanwhile, declared an estimated $6.3 million in overseas purchases during the second quarter -- a jump of 13.5 percent over 1993.

Said the Department: "A quarterly analysis of spending by broad merchandise groups indicated substantial increases in expenditure on tapes, records and CDs (36 percent) and computer hardware and software products (43.5 percent).'' It added that overseas spending by Bermudians on jewellery and watches and tools and machinery fell below 1993 levels by 47.8 percent and 30.3 percent respectively.

Figures relating to the construction industry showed there were six fewer housing completions in the second quarter than the 39 units that were built during the same period last year, while the total value of major construction projects rose 33.7 percent to $12.7 million.

The latter increase was attributed to work being done at the Tynes Bay incinerator and the two commercial banks and to new projects at the Bermuda College and Whitney Institute.