BERMUDA's tourism figures are falling at a greater rate than almost every Caribbean island, with only volcano-ravaged Montserrat reporting a worse decline, according to a report out this week, writes Clare O'Connor.

This is despite Bermuda outspending every island nation bar the Bahamas on promoting tourism.

Data released by the market research arm of Business Monitor International compares tourism figures across 13 Caribbean countries, with Bermuda included in the analysis.

In the first quarter of 2008 ¿ the most recent comparison figures available ¿ Bermuda reported a year-on-year decline in arrivals of 4.9 per cent. This puts the island second only to fellow British Overseas Territory Montserrat, a small island with a gross domestic product per capita of $3,400, which reported a drop of 5.7 per cent.

Montserrat is home to an active volcano that completely destroyed its former capital, Plymouth, in 1997 and forced two-thirds of the island's residents to flee. Its population now numbers under 5,000 due to a mass exodus.

Bermuda, by comparison, hovers around the top mark in terms of GDP per capita worldwide, with a recent figure putting it at $76,403 ¿ well over 20 times that of Montserrat.

Bermuda's arrivals decline was worse than that of Martinique and Belize, the only two other Caribbean-area countries reporting a drop in tourism figures in early 2008. Many island nations that often compete with Bermuda for tourist dollars showed comparatively strong figures, with Antigua and Barbuda's first-quarter arrivals up by 16.8 per cent and St. Lucia's up by 17.1 per cent.

These statistics come on the heels of this week's Department of Tourism announcement that third-quarter arrivals are down 22 per cent year on the year. On Tuesday, Premier and Tourism Minister Ewart Brown told The Royal Gazette that a decline in cruise ship arrivals and the global economic crisis are to blame for lacklustre figures.

The Business Monitor International data also follows a recent US Department of Justice report detailing spending by Caribbean countries on tourism.

Bermuda outspent every island but the Bahamas on tourism in 2007, and spent more than the Cayman Islands and Jamaica ¿ both of which reported an increase in arrivals in the first quarter of 2008.

The report, released by the US Department of Justice late last month, looked at spending intended to boost tourism, including "conventions, familiarisation trips, expos, trade/consumer shows, conferences and seminars".