Bermuda was ranked 23rd among the world's hottest destinations in a recent survey behind Jamaica, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and Aruba.

And Shadow Tourism Minister David Allen blamed the Ministry of Tourism for the low ranking, saying it had failed to spend its budget wisely.

Being tied with Peru was little consolation, he asserted, given its recent history.

"I am not so sure that reflects very well on us,'' he told reporters at a press conference at PLP headquarters yesterday. "Peru is just coming out of a Maoist-inspired civil war down there with the Shining Path guerrillas.

"I guess Peru is glad that it is tied with Bermuda but I am not so sure Bermuda should be pleased it's tied way down in the 23rd spot with Peru.'' The American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) conducted the survey among US travel agents during the week of September 12-19 1996.

Of Bermuda's principal rivals, only Jamaica made the top ten while Puerto Rico was 13th, The Bahamas was 16th and Aruba was 17th.

"We have a challenge laid out in front of us to turn around Bermuda's tourism,'' he said. "...it is true that we have to upgrade the product in Bermuda constantly. We have to improve the hotel plant and improve the service that we are giving our visitors.'' Mr. Allen who returned to the island from the World Travel Congress in Bangkok, said the 14-strong task force that has flown to Boston -- led by Tourism Minister David Dodwell and Finance Minister Grant Gibbons where they will spend two days putting Bermuda's tourism industry under the microscope -- was an admission that the "Let Yourself Go'' advertising campaign has failed.

He said: "The fact that so far this year visitor arrivals are up only approximately 10,000 persons compared to Mr. Dodwell's minimum projected target of 25,000, speaks for itself, especially when one notes that last year's figures with which the comparison is drawn were in themselves very lacklustre.

He added: "We still have to make sure that we keep up with our competitors in terms of the advertising dollars spent.

"We have lost a lot of ground over the years. The problem this year has been that the dollars have not been wisely spent.'' Moreover, Mr. Allen said there was no reason to resort to casinos because there were many uniquely Bermudian products that could be marketed.

"Soft adventure sports like scuba diving, para-sailing and wind surfing all need to be promoted in a dynamic way.

"Bermuda has nearly 400 historic wrecks. We have the greatest repository in a small area of historic wrecks covering virtually every era from the early Spanish Colonial to the 18th century British warships to the civil war blockade runners just lying there.

"We haven't pushed those buttons yet and I believe that's what we must do instead of pushing the panic button either with a sex and sin campaign like the `Let Yourself Go' or with gambling casinos.''