Bailey's Bay is to lose yet another tourist draw with the proposed sale of Bermuda Glassblowing on Blue Hole Hill.

Owner Gayle Weyland plans to close the two-decade old business at the end of the month, just weeks after her neighbour Bermuda Perfumery shut its doors for good.

Mrs. Weyland has put the 3,400 square foot building occupied by her studio up for rent and is now in the process of selling the business, her expertise as a consultant and $100,000 worth of stock.

"What has happened is the market has shrunk so much I can't afford the building any longer," she said.

While Mrs. Weyland once had no difficulty selling large one-of-a-kind pieces for between $200-$800, she says that over the past five years there has not only been a decline in the overall number of tourists visiting her shop she has also noticed a decline in the type of tourist now coming to the Island.

"The last five years it has been a continual decline in fact it is the worst I have ever seen it," she said. "We are not getting the quality of visitors we used to get. When people can come to Bermuda on a cruise ship for a week on a $600 package they are not going to have money to spend, are they?" she said.

Mrs. Weyland says that it will only be possible for someone to take over the business "within a smaller location, closer to the cruise ships and with a low end gift line, $20 and below."

Down the road the operators of Crystal Caves and Swizzle Inn are concerned about the departure of their neighbours, but they remain confident that they have what it takes to continue to draw tourists in.

Debbie Ray, who has managed the caves for the past seven years, said: "We are disappointed because obviously the more attractions you have in the area the more opportunity you have for people to come in your direction."

She too is concerned about a decline in tourists, especially in the past year.

"Our decline is not as sharp as other attractions in the area, but we have noticed a decline this year," she said, adding that the loss of the mega ships that visited every week last year had made a big difference on the cave's visitor numbers.

"It is a concern that we don't have the mega ships coming in and I would have thought that tourism itself would be concerned by the fact that the smaller cruiselines are replacing the smaller ships with larger ships. Are we in a position to berth them? Will we be down the road?"

Mrs. Ray, however, says that there is still plenty in the area that will draw tourists. Her business includes a gift shop, restaurant and two caves. Other draws include the Bailey's Bay Ice Cream Parlour, Swizzle Inn and the neighbouring Grotto Bay Hotel.

She said: "It is a concern but we're not overly concerned at this time. We are certainly doing our best to maintain the Crystal Caves, one of the leading attractions in Bermuda, and we'll do everything we can to make sure that doesn't change."

Jay Correia, owner of Swizzle Inn, said: "It is unfortunate to see these tourist destinations closing, but it is unfortunately a sign of the times."

At Swizzle Inn, however, he says numbers have been very strong. While overall tourism figures may have declined, the percentage of tourists stopping at the restaurant keeps going up.

"They are always going to come here. We have been here a long time. Of course it would be ideal if we had everything in the area going wide open and doing well, but I'm not overly concerned about it because Swizzle is still destination unto itself. It is sad to see institutions such as The Perfumery, which had been around forever, closing down but it is understandable because they hadn't been profitable for along time."

As for Mrs. Weyland, she has already opened another business to replace her first.

Tempest Cave Housekeeping Services has four full-time domestic cleaners and a growing client list that currently stands at 60.

She said: "I decided to go with domestic housekeeping because it is a very low cost business to get into to start with and as long as you provide really good service and maintain consistent quality, it is a great cheque every month and it doesn't matter whether it is Christmas, tourism summer or winter."