compared to the same period in 1994, Government's latest weekly figures show.

And the total number of visitors in the year to date continued the downward spiral that was started in the final quarter of last year by falling some 1.6 percent.

Between March 13 and 19, 7,517 visitors arrived in Bermuda, 573 fewer than the 6,090 who came during the same period last year.

Between January 1 and March 19, a total of 44,207 visitors flew in to the Island, 733 fewer or 1.6 percent less than the 44,940 who came to Bermuda last year.

At the end of February, the number of year-to-date arrivals rose by a modest 0.2 percent to 25,636, though a decrease in the amount of visitors from the United States, Canada and Europe heralded the decline in March arrival figures.

In February, for example, US arrivals decreased in comparison to the same month of 1994 by just under one percent to 10,865.

British arrivals, meanwhile, dropped by 1.5 percent in February to 1,019, Canadian arrivals decreased by 22.9 percent to 2,826 and European arrivals fell by a whopping 35 percent to 247.

By contrast, February arrivals from other countries shot up in comparison to the same period last year, increasing by 35.3 percent to 399.

Also during February, the average length of stay for all air visitors increased from 6.8 nights to 6.9 nights, while the members of the Bermuda Hotel Association recorded an increase in the number of overnight stays to 4.8 nights from 4.4 nights.

Most of the visitors -- some 8,541 -- stayed in large hotels in February, a drop of 2.8 percent when compared to the same period of 1994.

Small hotels, cottage colonies and housekeeping cottages rounded out the top four arrival choices in local accommodations, though each registered decreases in the number of February guests of 8.8 percent, 12.2 percent and five percent respectively.

Meanwhile, the 1.6-percent decrease in the number of air arrivals since January 1 picked up on a trend that began in the last four months of 1994, recently-released quarterly figures show.

In comparison to the final quarter of 1993, the number of air visitors from the beginning of September to the end of December decreased by 4.8 percent to 84,651.

Despite the drop, however, the total number of 1994 visitors was pegged at 415,996, a fractional rise of 0.9 percent over 1993.

Similarly, total expenditure by regular visitors on accommodation, food, entertainment and shopping was estimated at $92.2 million for the quarter, a decrease of 6.4 percent when compared the final quarter of 1993. Aggregate expenditure by regular visitors for the entire year, however, increased by 3.2 percent to $480.3 million.

Of those visitors, Americans spent the most per day -- $277 -- while Canadians dished out $220 per day and Europeans $217.

Cruise ship visitors -- whose numbers increased by 12.3 percent in 1994 to 172,865 -- spent $191 a day last year ($27 or 12.3 percent less than in 1993) and $43.5 million in total (10.7 percent more than in the previous year).

In terms of retail sales, final-quarter sales for 1994 rose by two percent to an estimated gross turnover of $136.8 million.

Residents returning from overseas trips in the last quarter of the year, meanwhile, declared an estimated $9.3 million in purchases. That represents an increase of 6.5 percent over the last quarter of 1993.