Shadow Tourism Minister Kim Swan has expressed concern that Bermuda is "dropping off the radar" after it was knocked from its top spot for the first time in ten years as the top Caribbean/Atlantic Island destination in a prestigious poll.

As The Royal Gazette reported on Thursday, some 28,000 travellers voted in this year's Cond? Nast annual Readers' Choice Awards.

St. John, US Virgin Islands, which had been in second place for the past two years, beat Bermuda in the Caribbean/Atlantic Island category.

In the top resorts category for the Atlantic, The Reefs came in second place, beaten by the One&Only Ocean Club in the Bahamas.

Islands were judged on scenery, friendliness, lodging, restaurants, activities and beaches.

Sen. Swan said of the results: "Bermuda appears to be dropping off the radar screen. In my opinion, when you consider the difficulty that many hotels are facing with occupancy levels, to have this kind of news should cause grave concern.

'I do a lot of travelling and you just don't hear about Bermuda. We need to be winning the hearts and minds of those people who are only two hours away and are most likely to come to Bermuda. What we are doing is obviously not keeping pace with our competition."

He said the Island needs "some real structural reformation" with a renewed focus on promoting it in key 'gateway' cities such as New York and Toronto, together with improved leisure facilities.

Before islands were broken down into various categories in the Cond? Nast poll in 2003, Bermuda ranked number eight in the Top 10 Tropical Islands in 2001 and 2002 and was the only island in the Atlantic to reach the Top 10, which included Hawaii, Bali, Phuket, Bora Bora and Fraser Island in Australia.Cond? Nast Traveler is published monthly and boasts a readership of some 750,000.