feb-2018c

12 13 OPENING LINES BERMUDARECORDSHIGHEST-EVERNUMBEROFVISITORS IN2017 2 017“brought the highest number of visitors to the island in recorded history,”the Bermuda TourismAuthority (BTA) said recently,adding that“the 692,947total arrivals is the best statis- tical performance dating back to 1965.” Previously,2007was the industry’s highmark; ad- ditionally,year-end hotel occupancypassed the 60 percent mark for the first time since 2007.“Bermuda’s tourism industryachieved itsmost impressive perfor- mance in a decade last year with the number of leisure air visitors and themoney they spend on-island surging to double-digit percentage growth,”the BTAsaid. All keyperformance indicators for the tourism in- dustryfinished higher in 2017when compared to the previous year: n Air leisure spending up 22.5% n Cruise spending up 7.6% n Leisure air arrivals up 11% n Hotel occupancyup 9.2% “Beginning in 2014,the BermudaTourismAuthority began amultiyear strategy to restore the island’s tour- ism industry to prominence.Last year was amajor stride forward on that journey,”said BTAChief Executive,Kevin Dallas. Further driving optimism is the number of visitors under 45 years old,which continues to power the Ber- muda tourism industrycomeback.About 83 percent of the growth in leisure air arrivals in 2017is fromvisitors younger than 45.It’s an audience that also had spend- ing power in 2017.The total estimated amount directly injected into the island’s economybyvisitors in 2017is $431million,which represents a sizeable 20 percent increase over the previous year. Bermuda’s tourism industryhas been resurging since 2015,particularlyover the past two years where the island has enjoyed eight consecutive quarters of leisure