Shadow Tourism Minister David Dodwell's concerns about tourism arrivals are well taken.

Mr. Dodwell, speaking in yesterday's Royal Gazette, warned that visitor air arrival figures have been flat so far this year and that hotel occupancies are lower than expected.

This comes as something of a surprise. The weak US dollar, increased flights and lower airfares and the continued desire of Americans to stay close to home should all have conspired to improve the tourism picture.

And while we recently commented, based on statistics from the first half of the year, that it looked like the slump in tourism had bottomed out, no one can take much pleasure from the fact that that may be as good as it gets.

To be sure, Tourism Minister Ewart Brown is an energetic and hard-working Minister who has some of the same charisma as his one-time Flatts Village neighbour C.V. (Jim) Woolridge.

But it is worrying that he is already falling back on the same old Tourism Minister's excuse that arrivals figures are less important than occupancy figures and spending figures.

This is true, at least technically. If one visitor comes for four days and spends $1,000 a day for a total of $4,000, that visitor is more valuable to Bermuda than, say, four visitors who come for four days and spend $100 a day for a total of $1,600.

But that does not mean that it would be satisfactory if only one person came and spent $1 million a day for a month. That would simply be a base to build on.

In any case, Bermuda is not in that happy situation. The Ministry and the tourism industry have to keep focusing on the basics of value for money and service to restore this vital industry.