spending record amounts on trips abroad, according to the Government's Quarterly Bulletin of Statistics.

Not only is there a huge decrease in the number of the traditional big spenders who stay in top-notch hotels, but residents have been spending more and more of their hard earned dollars abroad.

Top end tourists who normally stay in the resort hotels are down by 8,506 on the previous quarter and overall spending by tourists is down by 8.3 percent to an estimated $132.4 million, year over year.

The 102,469 air passengers on average spent $1,292 each during their stay. The 100,388 cruise passengers spent an average of $217.10 each.

The closure of Marriott's Castle Harbour Resort not only affected the number of luxury rooms available, but also the total amount spent on hotels, which is down 7.5 percent from $97 million to $89.7 million.

Spending by visitors on shopping, entertainment and transport also declined during the quarter to $42.7 million.

Bermuda residents took a record number of trips abroad, reaching 42,399 and brought back more shopping than in any of the same quarters registered.

The trips average out at 70 out of every 100 Bermudians going abroad in just the four months of the year between the end of June and the end of September.

For the year to date, there have been 101,902 individuals travelling abroad -- nearly 1.7 trips on average per person on the Island.

And while away during the third quarter they declared $10 million worth of goods, an increase of $1.152 million or a rise of 13 percent.

Most was spent on clothing and footware -- an estimated $4.2 million alone, up from $3.8 million for the same period last year.

This works out at an average of $236.85 declared per person travelling abroad during the quarter.

In total this year residents have spent $23.9 million abroad in the three quarters to date.

These residents abroad spent $0.97 million on electronic and photographic equipment, $0.98 on household items, furniture and appliances, $0.64 million on toys and sports goods, $0.37 million on tapes, records and compact discs, $0.56 million on computer hardware and software, $166,000 on jewellery and watches, $538,000 on tools and machinery parts and $1.6 million on miscellaneous items.

The only good news for retailers is an increase in the number of cruise passengers, a group that spends one sixth less than air passengers.

Their numbers rose 3.3 percent with total expenditure during the quarter standing at $21.8 million, 5.8 percent over the amount spent the year before.

Cruise ships made 78 visits to the Island during the quarter, ten more than in the same quarter last year.

Slowing down: Despite the last minute rush to the shops over the weekend, the latest Government figures show that both locals and tourists are spending less in the retail sector. And residents are travelling abroad in droves, bringing back record amounts of goods.