By Marina Esplin-Jones Bermuda should start marketing itself as part of the Caribbean to drum up business, Shadow Tourism Minister Mr. David Allen suggested yesterday.

"Frankly, I think the day is over when we can just market Bermuda as a separate entity,'' he said in response to news of a disappointing tourism year.

Last week's air arrivals were down 11 percent or by 754 visitors, Government statistics released yesterday showed.

But Tourism Minister the Hon. CV (Jim) Woolridge maintained there were good reasons for the fall-off, including a "tremendous'' price cutting spree in the Caribbean, the effect of the US mid-term elections, and possibly the new St. George's cruise ship out of Boston this summer.

"The 13.4 percent decrease in air arrivals out of Boston coincides with the introduction of the new cruise boat out of Boston which was offering seven-day cruises for $640 a person, compared to the $345 air fare plus hotel,'' the Minister said.

He would not be drawn on whether he regretted the signing of the Royal Majesty .

"It's a decision made by Government and I have to work with it,'' he said.

"I just hope everything settles down and gets back to normal.'' Air arrivals from the North-East were down 8.5 percent in the third quarter.

Air and cruise tourism for the year, as of November 20, stood just 4.1 percent ahead of 1993.

Mr. Woolridge conceded he had been "very bullish'' earlier this year with his 10 percent projection, but said he was more concerned with quality than numbers in tourism.

However, Mr. Allen said: "The fact is, not being part of the Caribbean is working against us.

"Yes, we are distinct in many ways including our seasonality but we are now competing year-round with the Caribbean. The time is long overdue that we have to think in terms of promoting ourselves as part of the region.'' Mr. Allen said Tourism officials should "stop looking down their noses'' at Bermuda's neighbours to the south and join the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO).

The CTO last year launched a $15 million marketing programme for the region which helped boost tourism in some islands by as much as 17-20 percent.

Mr. Allen said the Island's hotels had "taken the lead'' by joining the Caribbean Hotel Association and it was now time for Government to join the CTO.

He noted that at an international travel market this month, a Far Eastern delegate who approached the Bermuda booth and said he was interested in sending groups to the Caribbean, "immediately lost interest and walked away'' after he was told "we are not part of the Caribbean''.

Mr. Allen added that people reaching for brochures were attracted to those showing 20 different destinations rather than just one.

Mr. Allen said he felt Bermuda also lost out on tourism this year because it had not been as aggressive as the Caribbean in pursuing Europeans.

As a result, Bermuda "can only dream about'' the direct regularly scheduled air services out of Europe which were enjoyed by the Caribbean.

Antigua and St. Martin were served by the top international European airlines Alitalia and Lufthansa, he noted.

He said he was "thankful Tourism finally listened to the Opposition'' and secured a charter flight out of Europe -- Condor which is expected to begin direct flights to Bermuda out of Germany next year.

The Royal Gazette reported yesterday that CTO figures showed the Island's competitors to the south -- with the exception of Jamaica and St. Vincent -- were set to record bumper tourism years.

The Cayman Islands saw its second record tourism year in a row with air arrivals jumping 20.4 percent in the third quarter.

Air arrivals in Grenada and St. Martin, meanwhile, were up by more than 17 percent in the third quarter. Barbados saw a tourism increase of 11.1 percent and St. Lucia, 12.8 percent.

"Most countries have recorded increases for the year so far,'' a CTO spokeswoman said. "I'd say it's a carry over from our joint $15 million marketing programme started early last year.'' "The US market has improved and business out of Europe is showing strong growth over the last couple of years.'' Once on track to record significant gains over 1993, the local tourism industry apparently ran out of steam with the year's air arrivals expected to finish only about one percent ahead of 1993.

This is a far cry from the Tourism Minister's boast last February of a ten percent improvement in air arrivals in 1994 after a promising start in the first quarter.