The latest air arrivals figures are no endorsement for Bermuda’s tourism marketing strategy, according to the One Bermuda Alliance.Calling the third-quarter figures “volatile”, Shadow Tourism Minister Shawn Crockwell said they showed a lack of clear strategy.Mr Crockwell was responding to Tourism Minister Wayne Furbert’s announcement that air arrivals were up two percent for July through September.Mr Furbert called August “a stellar month”, with 30,995 arrivals — up “a whopping nine percent” on last year’s figure.A total of 81,083 flew to the Island over three months.Hitting back at Mr Crockwell’s assertion earlier this month that figures for August and September could prove “the worst on record”, Mr Furbert accused the OBA of “talking because they can”.The OBA MP responded that Bermuda’s best bet for reviving tourism was “the formation of a tourism authority that puts professionals, not politicians in charge of the industry”.And he said accountability was needed, “which went missing as air arrivals crashed to historic lows over the past decade”.Acknowledging that August’s figures had risen significantly, Mr Crockwell pointed out that July had been down two percent, and September by three.“These volatile results are symptoms of the absence of a strategic plan and marketing presence — something this Government has been operating without for years,” he said.“We wish the Minister the best with the new ‘So Much More’ marketing plan, but only time will tell whether it is effective or not.”He also called on Mr Furbert to explain why statistics showed air arrivals up, but hotel occupancy down.Occupancy at the Island’s ten biggest hotels dropped two percent in July and August on the previous year’s numbers, down to 86 percent and 82 percent respectively.September rose two points, to 56 percent, for the hotels, which hold 75 percent of the Island’s room inventory.Announcing the figures, Mr Furbert said that hotel numbers “still significantly exceed the levels of the corresponding period of 2010”.Kim Swan, of the United Bermuda Party said: “Like the Minister of Tourism we are also pleased to hear that of the overall increase in third quarter results. We note that the increase came as a result of a significant increase in August.“It is important to appreciate that the August performance offset declines in both July and September. In spite of the substantive August increase year compared to 2011, the declines in the two months before and after presents a challenge for Bermuda in future years. Government must identify the cause of both the increase and the decline.”He added: “The summer remains peak season and the real challenge for Bermuda tourism is to reduce the seven-month off season.”