Tourism arrivals rose by 44 per cent in October according to statistics from the Bermuda Tourism Authority, with the America’s Cup being credited for much of the surge.

However, advanced hotel bookings appear relatively flat — just under 1 per cent below figures from the same time last year — due to low numbers this month and last month.

According to the BTA’s Measures and Projections for October 2015, 768 vacationers flew to the Island during the month specifically to watch the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series events, and another 409 for America’s Cup-related business.

The America’s Cup visitors helped fuel higher visitor numbers during the month. In total, vacation air arrivals for the month were up 12.4 per cent from 2014, with an additional 1,141 visitors flying to the Island, while business arrivals increased by 20.6 per cent (805 people).

“October’s increase was the result of persons travelling from the US and UK with year-over-year increases of 15 per cent and 21 per cent respectively,” the document states. “Canada expressed a decline of almost 10 per cent compared to October 2014 while arrivals from Europe were relatively flat, increasing by 19 [individuals].”

The increase in air visitor arrivals comes despite a 6 per cent drop in airline capacity to the Island, a reduction of 2,530 seats.

A BTA spokesman said that the America’s Cup was not the only factor in the boost, saying: “Although the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series made a sizeable impact on the overall performance for October, the combination of the Royal Bermuda Regiment Tattoo, the Nike Golf PGA Team Championship of Canada, Argo Gold Cup, Round the Sound Swim, Commonwealth Parliamentary Association meeting and a regional conference for business leaders collectively made a positive impact.”

The figures also state that while cruise ship arrivals rose by 54 per cent in October year-on-year, yacht arrivals fell slightly due to the lack of a Newport to Bermuda race.

Hotels also saw a surge in occupancy during the month with 657 more tourists staying in hotels during the month. The increased number of guests brought occupancy rates up 16 per cent during the month, although year-to-date occupancy remained flat. Meanwhile, the cost of staying in a hotel has risen — the average daily rate this October was $45.86 higher than the previous year — and the length of the average stay remained relatively flat, falling by 2.3 per cent.

While the document found that advanced hotel bookings for the period between last month and October 2016 were down by 0.9 per cent, it attributed the fall to a decrease in group bookings this November and December.

“When isolating 2016, pace is 4 per cent ahead from January to October, driven by increases in group travel,” the report stated.

Bookings for the coming year are particularly positive in July and October, with bookings up by 94 per cent and 37 per cent respectively.

Less positive are bookings for September and April, which are down by 33 per cent and 15 per cent respectively.

Asked about the advanced figures for November and December, the BTA spokesman said: “We monitor the forward-looking pace figures very closely each month and whenever we see a dip in the forecast we redouble our efforts to make a positive impact. That’s true for this month and every month.”