weekend is no great cause for celebration, according to hoteliers yesterday.

In fact hotel owners predicted the rise in visitors -- and that many would only stay three or four days.

Figures reveal that 26.5 percent more people passed through the Civil Air Terminal than during the same weekend last year. The total number was 8,638, which is 1,808 up on 1991.

Although it has improved the outlook slightly the total figure of arrivals over a four-week period is still nearly four percent down on last year.

Hoteliers and owners of guest houses and cottages have mixed feelings about the economic situation, but both agreed that the Labour Day weekend was a one-off.

Managing director of the Grotto Bay Beach Hotel, Mr. George H. Robinson, said that the weekend was a "short term aberration.'' Mr. Robinson said: "It certainly was not as good as it has been in the past.

Even the week before Labour Day was quiet. That is when it normally picks up but everybody had lots of space.

"If you analyse the airport figures you will probably find most people arriving on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and then a lot of departures after that.'' At Pink Beach Club, a traditional Bermudian cottage colony in Tucker's Town, Mr. Barry Marquardt, a manager, agreed that there had been an increase over the weekend.

But things are looking a little better. Mr. Marquardt said: "Our figures are fairly strong and we are running close to last year's figures, but that was not a great year.

"We are not running at 100 percent, which we should be at this time of year, but we do have constant bookings coming through.'' Mr. Mike Chase, controller of the Mermaid Beach Hotel, reports a good August after a year of mixed fortunes.

Again, Mr. Chase refused to read anything into the weekend leap in figures but believed flight discounts are helping to improve matters.

This point is backed by Mr. Reginald Cooper, proprietor of the Glencoe Hotel, who said: "Things improved because of Labour Day offers and the bookings show that they will continue to improve until the end of the year because of air fares.

"But we have had a very poor summer because people have been taking advantage of air fares in the United States to fly internally and visit relatives.'' Over the weekend the Glencoe, in Paget, was full. Mr. Cooper said: "For the year as a whole we are going to be hard pressed to get a 60 percent occupancy level.'' At smaller locations like Greenbank Cottages, in Paget, it has been a reasonable year with 75 percent occupancy and healthy bookings for September and October.

A spokesperson said: "Small guest houses have done well compared to the larger hotels. We get a lot of repeats and lot of people hearing about us by word of mouth.'' Are there signs of things getting better for the island's hotel industry as a whole? In the words of Mr. Robinson: "None.''