LONDON -- The Island's focussed selling effort in London got off the ground yesterday despite a subway workers' strike which threatened to derail the exhibitors' hopes.

The third annual Bermuda Marketplace kicked off at 9.30 a.m. at The Berkeley Hotel when Tourism Minister David Allen officially opened the event.

And by the time the first day came to a close at 4.30 p.m., some 50 of the 60 tour operators and specialist travel agents scheduled to attend the event on day one had arrived safely -- some coming from as far away as Wales and Manchester.

Meanwhile, underground workers were into the first day of a 48-hour strike they had called in protest at their working conditions but services around the city were minimally affected by their actions.

Bermuda Tourism sales manager in UK and Europe, Rosemary Wick, told The Royal Gazette : "We only had ten no-shows out of the 60 people scheduled to attend today. Considering the strike that's excellent.

"We hope tomorrow will be more of the same.'' Among the hotels represented at the Bermuda Marketplace -- which include White Sands, Ariel Sands, Sonesta Beach, Sky Top Cottages, Rosedon, Marriott's Castle Harbour Resort, Surfside, Canadian Pacific, Grotto Bay, Horizons, Waterloo House, Elbow Beach and Cambridge Beaches -- are Bermuda Collection members The Reefs and Stonington Beach Hotel.

Stonington general manager Esan Frederick said his charge was represented at Marketplace because of his desire to try to get back the clientele the property once enjoyed.

"Our first general manager Bill Moulder, put a lot of time and effort into the UK market but the numbers have fallen off since then,'' he said.

"Our main interest in being here is to saturate the UK and European market and let them know who we are again. There is a lot of demand for our property -- people are always asking what happened to us -- so we need to get back on track.'' The Reefs general manager Neal Stephens said Marketplace presented a quandary for the property he represented because only about five percent of the business the Southampton property did in a year came out of the UK and Europe.

"It's a quandary because we are not going to get any more business unless we invest in it.'' The UK and Europe markets were growing, but still had to be cultivated, he said.

"If we want to grow this market we have to start somewhere.'' Part of the dilemma is The Reefs' popularity that makes it difficult for tour operators and travel wholesalers to secure large numbers of rooms they can then sell.

The Reefs is full through the season, continued Mr. Stephens, so it had to justify giving away rooms it could sell itself.

Attending Marketplace for the first time are representatives from Ontario Tourism, the Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism (MOTT) and the New York Convention & Visitors Bureau (NYCVB).

Their role at the event is to promote the two-centre vacation the Tourism Department in the UK have been pushing for the past year.

The idea allows UK and European visitors, who typically take long vacations, the opportunity to combine the atmosphere and offerings of a big city with the relaxing aspects of an Island vacation in Bermuda.

These trips have proved popular and the North American representatives are at the Bermuda event in a bid to boost tour operator and travel agent awareness.

MOTT senior account executive Joanna Forster said Boston offered people the chance to do some value for money shopping and get the buzz of the city before they moved on to relax at the Island.

So far 13 tour operators featured the twin-centre Boston and Bermuda vacation and Ms Forster said she was endeavouring to develop the product further.

"It is very much a new thing for us as we have just started working with Bermuda Tourism in the UK.'' So it is New York which so far monopolises the twin-centre market.

NYCVB director Sarah Handy said the twin-centre vacation offered passengers a break during their flight to Bermuda which they could fill with shopping and sightseeing and generally running themselves ragged.

Then they can go to Bermuda to relax, she pointed out.

Selling Bermuda: Pictured, from left: Philip Troake, British Airways; Tourism Minister David Allen; and Ian Parker, European director of Bermuda Tourism.