Bermuda has been bucking a regional tourism trend with visitor arrival figures up 2.7 percent so far this year compared to 2001, Tourism Minister David Allen said yesterday.

Mr. Allen said the Island was “weathering the storm” better than Caribbean rivals and was ahead of projections made after September 11.

In the first six months of this year, there were 215,618 visitors compared to 209,927 for same period last year - a rise of 2.7 percent.

Arrival figures for the second quarter of this year were also up three percent at 168,002 - driven by a large increase in cruise and yacht visitors - although the key barometer of air arrivals was down 6.4 percent for the quarter at 96,208.

Visits by the Carnival Triumph megaship to Dockyard contributed to a 16 percent rise of almost 10,000 of cruise passengers in the second quarter. Yacht visits also jumped, 59 percent, to 4,454.

“The increase in visitor arrivals to Bermuda this June is compelling testimony to the success of our current marketing strategies, our continuing product enhancement initiatives, and the resilience and enterprise of our industry partners” said Mr. Allen.

“We are weathering the storm better than many of our competitors and the reason is that Bermuda has a reputation for serenity and tranquillity, it less than two hours away, and people don't want long flights.”

The figures come in the face of slumps of 13.7 percent in Aruba, nine percent in Barbados, and 14 percent in Cayman, as of May 2002.

Mr. Allen said Bermuda's figures were more remarkable because in the wake of September 11, the World Travel and Tourism Council was predicting a 13.5 percent slump for the Caribbean region in 2002, a drop of 8.5 percent for the United States, and 7.4 percent in world travel as a whole.

Bermuda's hotel occupancy was virtually identical to last year for the second quarter - at 71.2 percent - but it was a mixed picture with the big hotels doing far better than smaller properties and cottage colonies.

Major hotels saw occupancy jump in every month of the second quarter, with April at 66 percent, May 71 percent, and June 76 percent. Smaller hotels saw occupancies drop from 72 percent to 66 percent in April, 86 percent down to 75 percent in May, and June down from 89 percent to 79.6 percent.

Cottage colonies saw a slump from 65.7 percent to 53 percent in April, May down from 81.4 percent to 73.2 percent, and June down from 91.4 percent to 85.1 percent.

Bermuda Hotel Association President Billy Griffith said while it was encouraging the Island was faring better than its rivals, all Bermuda hotels wanted to see better results to increase profitability.

“We are in a better position than other destinations, but the real picture is that we need to be successful here to carry our business forward,” he said.

“The industry continues to be challenged as we fight to maintain the financial viability of our hotels. Our major market, the USA, is going through its own challenges and this is not making our jobs easier.”

Bookings were also lagging behind last year, but there was an increasing trend for tourists to wait later and later until booking.

Allen denies Stonington rumours, Page 8