Despite a drop in air arrivals the Department of Statistics has reported increased spending during the third quarter of 2010.Yesterday, the Department released its quarterly bulletin of statistics for July, August and September last year.It stated that 78,806 visitors came to Bermuda during the period, down one percent compared to the same three months in 2009. It was the lowest number of air arrivals during Bermuda's peak season since the modern recording system started in the 1980s; in 2000 approximately 109,000 visitors flew to the Island in the third quarter.“After an irregular increase in air arrivals during the second quarter of 2010, third quarter arrivals returned to quarterly declines experienced since the second quarter of 2007,” the report added.The Department said the air visitors spent $113 million on the Island, $18 million more than they did the previous year.The average leisure visitor spent an additional $329 in the third quarter of 2010.The dip in air arrivals and September's Hurricane Igor negatively impacted the total revenue of the hotel industry. Revenues were $71 million lower than in 2009 for large hotels, which was a two percent contraction. Small resorts reported earning $1 million less, a 15 percent drop from the previous year.However, cottage colonies and other accommodations reported growth in 2010, increasing their revenue by 17 percent and 15 percent respectively, or $656,000 combined.While air arrivals were down but spending was up the opposite was true when it came to tourists on cruise ships.The summer cruise passengers spent ten percent less than they did in 2009 despite the fact that the number of passengers increased by five percent. A total of 149,015 people came by cruise ship during the third quarter and spent $26 million, down $2.8 million from the previous year.