The latest batch of visitor arrival statistics show June US arrivals hit 37,527, up more than three percent over the 36,402 arrivals in June, 1997.

The Bermuda in Perspective figures for the month of June were released by Government Information Systems yesterday.

They show a total of 77,034 and 247,378 people visited the Island in June and for the year-to-date respectively.

Total air arrivals for the month were up nearly 3.5 percent -- from 42,083 in June, 1997, to 43,534 and the year-to-date total stood at 174,290 -- down 2.45 percent from the figure recorded for the same period in 1997 (178,676).

Cruise arrivals for the month climbed to 33,390 and for the year to date they were up almost two percent over last year with US cruisers accounting for nearly 95 percent of this year's 72,727 cruise passengers.

US air arrivals from the Island's main market in the north eastern states leapt 9.82 percent from 6,832 arrivals in June, 1997, to 7,503.

However it was US air arrivals from the mid-western states which showed the most significant growth.

They jumped 20 percent from 2,873 in June, 1997, to 3,464. The south-eastern states' market was the only one to slide. It fell 15 percent from 5,556 arrivals in June, 1997, to 4,700.

Worldwide, the UK showed continued growth.

For the month of June, UK arrivals were up over 20 percent from 1,990 in 1997 to 2,400 arrivals.

It is the UK's third consecutive double digit increase for the year and the eighth consecutive increase dating back to last November.

Year-to date arrivals for the country were up 18.88 percent while year-to date arrivals for the US, Canada and Europe were down by 3.4, two and 17.45 percent respectively.

In good news for commercial accommodations, figures gathered by Government's Passenger Information System showed that the average length of stay for visitors during June was 5.27 nights.

In June, 1997, this figure only reached 5.05 nights.

Meanwhile the year to date average length of stay was 5.32 compared to 5.21 last year.

This was reflected in a boom in the number of bed nights -- a key indicator of visitor spending -- that yesterday's release highlighted.

In June, 1997, 250,519 bed nights were recorded. This figure climbed almost seven percent this year to 267,756 bed nights.

This helped take the year-to-date total of bed nights up 0.2 percent from 1,064,422 in 1997 to 1,067,588 in 1998.