Experts have questioned if tourism spending really increased by 35 percent during the second quarter of 2010 because the figure is based on a report that slashed the number of tourists it collected data from.

In August the Department of Tourism announced Bermuda's economy got a "significant injection" thanks to a 35 percent increase in visitor spending, which rose to $117 million compared to the same period in 2009.

However tourism industry experts have said because the figures are based on a survey that quizzed only 281 people this year — a 58 percent drop compared to the 699 people questioned last year — the numbers may be misleading.

During the same period in which the Department of Tourism reported that visitors spending increased by $30 million, $22 million of which was reportedly spent on accommodation, the Department of Statistics stated hotels saw a small increase in their gross receipts, up $2.9 million. An industry insider said it was impossible to explain why visitors stated they were spending more at hotels, but hotels were not reporting an equal increase in their gross receipts. He said it could be due to locals spending less at hotels, or the small sample, or the way the data was collected, or all of the above.

"It may be that they surveyed a relatively older section of departing tourists who happen to spend more on average or any myriad of factors, but that is information I would not be privy to," he said. Another insider said the whole report had caused more questions than answers when it came to the state of Bermuda's tourism industry.

"If they are deriving their findings from an incorrect flash report, with a lower sample size compared to 2009, then this whole report is not factual and it should have not been reported. "Instead it has confused the whole issue. How can we honestly say that the second quarter of 2010 was better than 2009 by 35 percent, when the gathering of information was not correct in the first place?"

Yesterday, Director of Tourism William Griffith said they have ensured more visitors will be quizzed for the third quarter.

He added: "The smaller sample size in the second quarter was a direct result of the Department switching data collection providers. The Department has already reverted to the usual sample size for the third quarter and these results will be available later this month."

Mr. Griffith added that it was "difficult" to compare the Department of Tourism's figures with the Department of Statistics' figure.

"It is difficult to make a direct comparison as the data sources and collection methodologies are markedly different. "The data collected by the Department of Tourism is based on random intercept interviews with air visitors and the data included in the hotel gross receipts table is collected directly from the hotels and does not include expenditures with non-hotel facilities."