Bermuda will market itself to the United States as a safe getaway resort this winter in a bid to salvage something from the expected heavy slump in tourism as a result of last week's terrorist attacks.

The news comes as Island hotels announce they will be laying off staff and some will be closing in the winter for the first time due to a spate of cancellations in the immediate aftermath of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Bermuda Hotel Association (BHA) has pulled forward its monthly meeting by a week and will convene tomorrow to discuss ways of reacting to the crisis.

John O'Brien, the general manager of Ariel Sands, said yesterday that the Devonshire property will close in January and February for the first time and that management is meeting today to decide on across-the-board redundancies.

"We are going to shut down in January and February. The way things are going we are looking to cut back on staff and we're having a meeting tomorrow to discuss that," he said.

The cottage colony, which is partly owned by Bermudian Hollywood actor Michael Douglas, will be looking at layoffs in all departments, he added.

"We have renovations to carry out in the restaurant and we've thought about this (a shut- down) many times before, but because it will be such a slow period we thought we'd take advantage."

Bermuda Industrial Union President Derrick Burgess said yesterday that the Fairmont Southampton Princess had also laid-off staff, although the hotel did not returns calls yesterday to confirm this.

Last week, Newstead General Manager Clarence Hofheins said a winter lay-off may have to be considered and in a worst-case scenario the hotel may have to close down completely.

BHA president William (Billy) Griffith said this week and next will be "the worst week in terms of lowest occupancies that we've seen in Bermuda in several years".

He said a significant part of the cancellations hotels are noticing are for September, and he urged hoteliers not to panic because October and November cancellations are likely to be less than this month.

Mr. Griffith said Bermuda's reputation for safety and its close proximity to the US will feature strongly in the marketing campaign being launched for the winter and summer.

"We have to be positive and not have the defeatist attitude that we are dead in the water, because I don't think that is the case," he said.

"We've brought forward our meeting by one week to give us an opportunity to sit down and assess the situation and what's happening to the industry at the moment in connection to what happened a week ago in the US and to come up with an action plan for the short- and medium-term."

He said BHA is pushing ahead with planned meetings in October with European, British, American and Canadian travel retailers.

"Business is not good at the moment. We are doing a lot of assessing and watching to see what plays out in the US so we can try to save the business," he added.

"We are trying to reach all our members and suggest that while things are tough, there is no need to panic because in the medium range, in October and November, the amount of cancellations are not as high as what we'll see in these two weeks.

"That does not negate the fact that winter is going to be a challenge, but as far as we are concerned, we have to tough it out and make the right decisions to save the business."