a success in creating business for the Island.

The news that the Summer of '97 promotion is booming comes as statistics show visitor arrival figures have dropped in the first six months of the year.

Tourism Minister David Dodwell revealed that the promotion has far exceeded initial expectations when he spoke to The Royal Gazette .

"The Summer of '97 promotion has been incredibly successful. We were anticipating 5,000 bookings.

"As of Wednesday (July 30) we have had 11,313 bookings. If you realise that most bookings are going to be for two people then that is 22,000 extra arrivals.'' Within three weeks of its start date on June 23, the deal had scooped up 7,000 bookings.

But Mr. Dodwell warned that it was unlikely that the boon would be reflected in visitor arrival statistics until later on in the year.

And there was a possibility that some people who had made bookings might cancel out, he added.

"I do not think we will see this reflected immediately in July but probably in August and September although there is sometimes a cancellation factor with this kind of thing.'' The Summer of '97 promotion was announced in June and features special $97 each way flights to the Island from key markets.

It involves the Tourism Department, Island hotels and US travel agents with support from print and radio ads in Boston, New York, Connecticut and Atlanta.

Previous visitors have been targeted with a postcard campaign and the deal is also being promoted on the Internet.

Hotels involved are the two Princess hotels, Elbow Beach, the Marriott Castle Harbour, Sonesta Beach, Grotto Bay, Belmont, the Harmony Club and Rosedon.

They have worked with the travel wholesalers involved in the promotion to provide the flexible pricing needed to make the offer possible.

The deal is based on special air-inclusive trips involving a minimum three-night stay. Starting price for the special deals are $555 per person, based on two sharing a room.

Trips originally had to be booked through a travel agent or a wholesaler by July 31 and completed by September 30 but the department plans to extend the purchasing period.

"This proved the power of the airfare,'' said Mr. Dodwell.

"We have done it through travel wholesalers and their phones have been ringing off the hook. The promotion is now going to be extended into August most likely.''