the same month last year.

A total of 16,204 people visited Bermuda during the month. This was up 0.92 percent over the 16,056 visitors who came to the Island the previous February.

Meanwhile, total figures for the first two months of the year show a 7.23 percent increase over the same period last year with 28,206 people visiting in comparison to 26,305.

This increase was encouraged by a 17.1 percent jump in January visitors, from 10,249 last January to 12,002 this year.

The monthly visitor statistics -- which are issued by the Department of Tourism -- show 11,266 US visitors and 2,906 Canadian visitors came to the Island.

These represent respective drops of 0.4 and 4.72 percent below last February's numbers.

Figures for the other tourism sources -- with increases over last February in brackets -- include: United Kingdom, 1,307 (26.16); Europe, 270 (17.39); Japan, 27 (17.39); Australia, 22 (144.44) and the rest of the world, 406 (2.27).

The number of bednights for February climbed 3.2 percent from 102,484 last year to 105,733. Total bednights for the first two months of the year rose 4.8 percent from 178,361 to 186,990.