Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, who is also the islands' finance minister, told legislators that visitor arrivals have diminished by 4.5 per cent during the 2008 fiscal year, which concludes next month.

The drop extends a nearly three per cent decrease in fiscal 2007 compared to the previous fiscal year.

"We are currently experiencing a severe downturn in our economy in a most extreme form," said Ingraham.

Preliminary data for the first four months of 2009 shows air arrivals decreasing by 15.5 per cent over the same period last year, exacerbated by carriers eliminating flights within the region.

Ingraham put the job losses in the tourism sector at roughly 2,200, bringing the islands' unemployment rate to about 12 per cent.

AP