Two-thirds of visitors polled during the summer months said they would not go to a casino if one was available on the Island.

And 60 percent said a casino would make the Island less appealing.

The figures were part of Government's 2009 summer exit survey, which The Royal Gazette obtained.

The survey asked 731 tourists detailed questions about their visit to the Island while they waited for flights in the departure lounge of L.F. Wade International Airport between June and August, 2009.

t revealed that half of our air visitors do not recall seeing advertisements about Bermuda before they arrived on our shores.

But it indicated that tourists who come to Bermuda generally want to come back again. Only five percent of visitors said they would not return to the Island. Seventy percent said they would definitely book another trip and 25 percent said they would probably visit the Island again.

Senator Michael Dunkley said he was surprised by the casino figures, which found:

45 percent would "definitely not" visit a Bermuda casino;

21 percent would "probably not";

11 percent would "definitely"

21 percent would "probably"

60 percent said a casino would make the Island "less appealing"

Ten percent said it would make it "more appealing".

"I wasn't expecting those numbers,"the Opposition spokesman for Tourism said. "I didn't believe that there would be such a strong reaction to it from our regular visitors."

But he added that the debate over whether or not gambling should be allowed in Bermuda must still take place. And he said he was interested in seeing a report on gambling currently with Cabinet.

don't think it is a silver bullet, it will not fix our problems," he said. "But we need to keep an open mind. If implemented properly it could be another amenity that would help us."

The Premier's press secretary Arnold Minors said the Government would take into account the survey's findings.

"Obviously, these statistics will not be ignored in any consideration of casinos in Bermuda," he said. "However, a key population we want to survey are those who have not been to Bermuda. It is possible- we just don't know- that people who have not been here may have chosen not to come because casinos are an important consideration for them in a decision about a vacation destination."

Government will table a Green Paper on 'Gaming For Bermuda' in the next session of the House of Assembly.

Sen. Dunkley said the exit survey also revealed that despite millions of dollars being spent on advertising, Bermuda has yet to carve out a brand, and awareness of the Island was lower than it should be.

Only 50 percent of the people questioned said they had seen advertisements prior to their arrival. Of those that had, half recalled seeing adverts on the television, while 43 percent said they had seen them in magazines and newspapers. Internet adverts about the Island had been seen by 23 percent. These numbers were the highest seen since 2003.

Sixty-one percent of visitors also said they had not been to the Department of Tourism's website.

Sen. Dunkley repeated his belief that Bermuda should push for an independent tourism authority to take over advertising from Government.

"It is people in the industry that should be deciding about marketing," he said.

"The department has taken a lot of decisions without people in the industry. During tough times I think it is clear that it is time to get back to basics."

He said it was encouraging that the survey showed once people come to Bermuda they find little to complain about.

Seventy-nine percent of visitors said they were "completely satisfied" with their visit while 20 percent said they were "mostly satisfied".

The survey's executive summery stated: "Leisure visitors remain highly satisfied with their trip to Bermuda overall, and in fact are increasingly satisfied in terms of the Island's cultural and historical attractions, personal safety, affordability, proximity, natural scenic environment, hospitality, festivals or special events, and cost of airfare.

"As a further testament to high levels of satisfaction overall, Island visitors name a number of elements that have exceeded their personal expectations, including the hospitality of the people and the beauty of the Island, being of most noteworthy mention. The majority also state there is nothing that did not meet their expectations while visiting the Island."

The survey and report were compiled by Corporate Research Associates Inc. in conjunction with Total Research Associates Ltd.