Premier Ewart Brown last night declared himself “excited” by the increased number of tourists who visited the Island in 2006.

The Government’s latest Quarterly Bulletin of Statistics reveals that the amount of visitors rose by almost a quarter compared to 2005, as reported in The Royal Gazette yesterday.

Air arrivals in the final quarter of the year increased by 14 percent to 62,291 with those visitors spending $80 million on the Island.

Dr. Brown said: “Perhaps most telling of our success as a tourism destination is the increase in air visitor expenditure. The 17.3 percent increase to some $80 million is phenomenal.

“The positive effect on all sectors of our economy is encouraging and validates our efforts to promote Bermuda as open 365 days a year.”

The bulletin showed that air arrivals spent $62.9 million on accommodation and food and $2.7 million on shopping, entertainment and transport.