Bermuda's latest arrival figures.

And they pointed out the Island was faring better than Barbados and other competitors.

But they warned it was too early to declare the statistics a trend.

Said tourism director Mr. Gary Phillips: "They are obviously a positive sign.

"I am cautiously optimistic, but I really wouldn't want to say whether it's some kind of trend.'' Mr. Phillips hoped the newly unveiled November-March winter programme would maintain the momentum.

Latest figures show Bermuda in September pulled in 56,772 visitors - a healthy 7.6 percent increase on last year.

Air arrivals shot up by 10.4 percent, and cruise ship visitors by 1.6 percent.

The number of people flying in from the United States increased 11.8 percent to 31,237.

Canada and Europe also registered improvements of 18.7 percent and 19.5 percent respectively.

Regionally in the US, the Mid-Atlantic rose 22 percent, the South East by 12.7 percent and the North East by 2.8 percent.

Declines, however, were recorded in the West (12.9 percent) and Mid West regions (2.3 percent).

In Canada all provinces notched up increases with the exception of the Maritimes which slumped by 11.2 percent.

Ontario rose by 19.6 percent, the Prairie Provinces by 32 percent, and Quebec by some 54.8 percent.

The total visitor arrivals this year, 409,826, stands 2.3 percent lower than that recorded in 1991.

Mr. Phillips said he hoped September's improvement reflected the integrated marketing programme launched by the Tourism Ministry.

The figures for the United States were among the best seen for September in a long time, he claimed.

The 22 percent rise in visitor arrivals from the Mid-Atlantic was particularly impressive.

"This is very positive indeed, and with our new winter programme I really hope we can continue the improvement we are anticipating.'' Mr. Phillips highlighted Bermuda's performance compared to some of its competitors, including Barbados.

That country, for instance, recorded a 23.9 percent drop in its visitors from the US in August, he said.

Bahamas chalked up a two percent increase in air arrivals for the month from the US.

This compared with Bermuda's far more impressive 11.8 percent rise in September.

Mr. Phillips said Barbados boasted more cruise ship passengers than Bermuda.

But latest figures show passengers stopping off here dipped deeper into their pockets.

"Spending here is very much better,'' he stressed.

Mr. Phillips continued: "It is extremely important not to recognise the universality of the tourism market.

"We are not alone in our strenuous efforts to attempt to turn things around.

"I just hope we can get our message across through our very vigorous advertising campaign.''