Is Bermuda really turning the corner as far as attracting visitors and holidaymakers to the Island?

Much was made by Deputy Premier Dr. Ewart Brown during his Hamilton Princess presentation of figures yesterday that show improvements in visitor numbers compared to 2004 and 2003.

But factoring in the damage done to tourism on the Island by Hurricane Fabian during those years, and the effect of the 9/11 terrorism attacks in 2001, the improvements do not bring Bermuda back to its 2000 and pre-2000 tourism levels.

During the years 1998 to 2000 the total number of air and cruise ship visitors hovered around 550,000, around 30,000 more than arrived in 2005.

In the past eight years the biggest dip in visitors occurred in 2001. The number of air passengers in 1998 stood at 369,971 and has, accepting a few small variations, steadily declined ever since to now stand at 269,587.

Dr. Brown intends to boost that to 400,000 or higher within the next two years and was upbeat enough to refer to that aim as "achievable".

The Tourism Minister pointed out that, comparing 2005 to 2004, there have been increases in cruise arrivals by 20 percent and air arrivals are down by only 0.7 percent.

He estimated the tourism industry added between $290.3 million to $333.8 million to the economy.

Dr. Brown said: "It is said that the race is not for the swift but for those who stay the course. I stand behind the aggressive objectives that have been established and commit to staying the course. It is my belief that we will achieve sustainable growth over the next few years."