In the year to June 2011, a record 1.6 million visitor visas were issued.

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Government forecasts suggest the final 2010 visitor number will reach an all-time high of 1.3 million, up from a record 1.01 million in 2009.

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Realizing the potential impact tourism can have on an island whose local population barely exceeds 1, 000, the mayor would rather have one visitor who could spend what 10 would elsewhere.

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Critics suggest that Eden must have struggled financially in recent years, as visitor numbers have fallen back from two million people in its first year to current levels of 1.2 million.

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Leading 3-1 against Premier League Aston Villa, a club owned by American businessman Randy Lerner, the visitor fell behind in the 24th minute when Belgian striker Christian Benteke flicked home.

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Due to the unrest, visitor numbers took a precipitous drop into the hundreds, but this past season the figure climbed back up to 1, 400, a sign that the industry is beginning to recover.

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