Tourist spending soars by more than $27m

Visitor spending is up more than $27 million, Government figures revealed yesterday.

The increase relates to the second quarter of this year when compared with the same period in 2009.

It is believed to be a rise of more than 40 per cent — but Government admits they can only make a rough estimate.

The Department of Tourism’s Air Arrivals Flash Report says: “Since the sample size is smaller this quarter, changes in results should be drawn with caution.”

Just 281 visitors were interviewed in the last quarter compared with 699 in the second quarter of 2009.

Based on that, the DOT estimates that visitor expenditure was between $91.2 million to $113.5 million, compared with $64.9 million to $84.7 million in 2009.

Wealthier

Even with the smaller sample size, the DOT said the “increased expenditure is cause for optimism”.

The report attributes this to older, wealthier people flocking to Bermuda and staying in hotels instead of in homes.

In 2010, 51 per cent of visitors in the spring quarter earn more than $150,000 compared with 38 per cent in 2009.

The number of people who make less than $100,000 decreased from 35 per cent to 23 per cent.

It also states that the number of people aged 65 and older increased from seven per cent to 16 per cent, while age groups 18-34, 35-54 and 55-64 each decreased by three per cent.

Hotel occupancy was 88 per cent, with the number of guests up in the second quarter — from 77 per cent to 85 per cent.

Because more people were staying in hotels rather than homes, spending in hotels, restaurants and transportation rose significantly, while spending in grocery stores, on souvenirs and telecommunications was down.

The report states that the most important reasons people choose to come to Bermuda are the climate, with personal safety second.

The hospitality of Bermudians slipped from the third most important reason to sixth. Visitors were less “completely satisfied” as it dipped from 81 per cent to 78 per cent. There was a huge drop off in having their expectations exceeded. In the second quarter of 2009, 79 per cent of visitors said the hospitality and friendliness of Bermudians exceeded their expectations but this plummeted to just 33 per cent in 2010.

Similar drops in exceeding expectations were seen in beauty of Bermuda (67 per cent to 18 per cent), cleanliness of Bermuda (52 per cent to nine per cent), beaches (52 per cent to 19 per cent) and weather (39 per cent to 13 per cent).

The six most popular tourist attractions for the quarter were the Royal Naval Dockyard (54 per cent), Horseshoe Bay (41 per cent), St. George’s (36 per cent), Gibbs Hill Lighthouse (25 per cent) and Harbour Nights and museums at 20 per cent.

The report added that 68 per cent of those who booked a trip here did so directly, while just 14 per cent used a travel agent.

Most tourists believe a casino in Bermuda would make the island less appealing.

The Department of Tourism unveiled its Air Arrivals Flash Report yesterday, which showed that visitors are not ready to fully embrace gambling.

Fifty-five per cent of travellers said having a casino would make Bermuda less appealing — just 35 per cent said it would make the island more or as attractive. The number of people in the latter group is up eight per cent.