Bermuda’s Tourist Arrivals up 12 Percent in 2011

Visitor numbers to Bermuda increased by 70,000 in 2011 compared to the previous year, Tourism Minister Wayne Furbert announced today. Mr. Furbert said the 12 per cent rise was good news, but insisted ‘the best was yet to come’.

He told a press conference this afternoon that 655,236 people came to the island in 2011, which was the second highest figure in history. Mr. Furbert said Bermuda enjoyed an ‘outstanding reputation’ abroad as he outlined several awards and honors the island had picked up in 2011.

Air arrivals for 2011 were up by nearly two per cent on the previous year with 236,038 tourists flying into the island. Cruise visitors increased by 19 percent, while convention incentive groups rose significantly by 116 percent.