with a Bachelor's Degree in Commerce, has just completed an objective, professional study about tourism in Bermuda.

The charismatic 24 year old chose to research specific details about tourism in Bermuda as her master thesis at Queen's University of Ontario.

She is obtaining her Master's Degree in Business Management with a major in marketing within the next few weeks as a result of her Bermuda research project entitled, "The Impact of Service Encounters on the Destination Image of Bermuda''.

This year Mrs. Walker Sobhani conducted 50 surveys with American Airline passengers flying from New York to Bermuda about their expectations and images of Bermuda before arrival. About 150 surveys were conducted with American Airline passengers in Bermuda prior to Bermuda departures.

"The most difficult task associated with the project was getting permission in the United States to hand out questionnaires,'' she explained. However, getting the permit to survey passengers leaving Bermuda was much simpler with the support of Tourism Minister, Mr. David Dodwell. Mrs. Walker Sobhani said, "My interest in tourism stems from my concern as a local Bermudian about the recent decline in tourism and it's impact on the Island's economy.

"Services research has only recently been explored in marketing, and although there have been studies on the quality of tourism services, more research is needed about the implications of these services.'' After the data was collected Mrs. Walker Sobhani explored the following questions: How does a tourist form an image of a destination? What determines a tourist's confidence level in this image? Do tourists have expectations of the services in Bermuda before they go on the vacation, which they then compare to the actual performance of the service? How do tourists determine the perceived service quality of services purchased on the vacation? How are tourists images of Bermuda affected by these service encounters? How does the post destination image (image upon the completion of the vacation) affect the behavioural intentions for repurchase? It has been a busy summer for Mrs. Walker Sobhani. She was married in May this year to Mr. Neysan Sobhani from Canada.

The couple will be moving to Sydney, Australia after summer. Mrs. Walker Sobhani will work in management consulting with the firm of Bain and Company of Toronto and Sydney. Mr. Sobhani will be completing his law studies at the University of Sydney.

The results of Mrs. Walker Sobhani's study will be published shortly in The Royal Gazette .