been plying the Ministry of Tourism with calls.

Commenting on yesterday's falling air arrival figures, Tourism Minister Mr.

David Dodwell emphasised the impact of natural phenomena on arrivals.

Figures released by the Tourism Department yesterday showed an eight percent decline in arrivals to date compared with last year.

Mr. Dodwell claimed Hurricane Felix had made a profound impact on August's air arrivals and hotel occupancy figures which are yet to be released.

"The middle week of August can clearly be attributed to Felix,'' he said.

"There are things beyond our control that can work for us or can work against us.'' Working in Bermuda's favour is the recent announcement by US Air, Continental, Delta and American Airlines that air fares will be reduced until December 15 for those who book by next Friday.

To cash in, Tourism is reallocating $30,000 to launch a "Pinch me I must be dreaming'' campaign in New York, Philadelphia and Boston newspapers and by faxing travel agents.

"We're going into high gear,'' Mr. Dodwell said. "The travel consumer is driven by this kind of thing. They wait for it.'' But Mr. Dodwell emphasised he had other initiatives up his sleeve.

His short term goal as Tourism Minister was to "get numbers up and drive business our way''.

"This is not the only thing I'll be doing,'' he claimed.