Visitor air arrivals dropped to 232,063 last year, the lowest level in four years as the Island’s tourism industry continued to struggle.And while three quarters of the tourists stayed at hotels, cottage colonies and resorts, nearly one quarter — some 56,489 — stayed at private homes, either with friends and family or in apartments.According to the latest Quarterly Bulletin of Statistics, nearly 4,000 fewer tourists came to Bermuda by air in 2012, a decline of 1.7 percent compared to 2011.The number of cruise passengers also fell, to 378,262 compared to 415,711 in 2011.In the fourth quarter alone, air arrivals decreased marginally by one percent to 44,406 air visitors, the bulletin showed.Total visitors from the US, Bermuda’s largest tourist market, slipped 0.7 percent below the level reached in the fourth quarter of 2011. Arrivals from Canada decreased 3.2 percent to 6,778 visitors while arrivals grouped in the all other countries category declined 8.6 percent to 2,478 visitors. Air arrivals from the United Kingdom increased by 4.9 per to 5,059 passengers.The slight decline in fourth quarter air arrivals translated into mixed booking results at tourist accommodation properties, the bulletin said.Occupancy levels at resort hotels were relatively unchanged registering 16 fewer guests.Private homes accommodated 485 fewer visitors, reflecting a decline in arrivals for the purpose of visiting friends and family.The number of visitors staying at housekeeping accommodations fell 11.5 percent.In contrast, visitors who reported staying at guest houses increased by 5.7 percent while occupancy at small hotels and cottage colonies edged up 1.8 percent.Visitor spending declined by $2.4 million to $58.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2012. This represented a 3.9 percent decrease as a result of lower per person expenditure by both leisure and business visitors.Among the expenditure categories, outlays on accommodation and food fell 2.7 percent to $44 million. Visitor spending on shopping, entertainment, transportation, and other tourist-related activities decreased 7.7 percent to $14.4 million. Air visitor expenditure in 2012 totalled $312 million, 10.5 percent lower than the level of expenditure reported in 2011.