changing demands of American visitors, says a top manager in the industry.

Mr. W.A. (Toppy) Cowen says hotels are pushing short breaks because that's what visitors want.

But the Pink Beach managing director says properties are worrying whether stays of around three nights can bring in enough cash.

Despite increased tourist numbers, the average length of stay in Bermuda Hotel Association properties has dropped from 4.5 nights last year to 4.3.

"It's a sort of catch-22,'' he said. "You can't win for losing.

"With the onus on quick trips, hotels are experiencing peaks on weekends and huge valleys Monday to Friday.

"Thanksgiving, for example, has been sold out for some time. But one weekend does not pay the bills.

"What we've done in the past, up to a couple of years ago, was have a minimum stay of five nights. A three-night stay was unheard of.

"Now the marketplace is demanding we have three or four-night stays. We can't win one way or another.

"You open up many magazines and you will see three-night trips and that type of thing.

"There's the suggestion that you can come to Bermuda for the weekend, when we didn't do it in the past.

"I'm not saying that it's totally wrong, but there's a suggestion by the Ministry of Tourism that Bermuda is still an upscale destination and we don't have little package deals. That's contradicted by what we're advertising.

"I'd like to go back to the five-night minimum stay, but in reality I know it's just not going to happen.'' Mr. Cowen also said hotels were in "trepidation'' that their traditional north-east US market, particularly Massachusetts, would be taken by the new St. George's cruise ship.

"In a political move the Government had to choose between compromise and humiliation and in consequence we have a dedicated ship for St. George's.

"We can only hope the pieces of the pie that were delivered to the St.

George's constituency are adequate for them and us.'' Mr. David Dodwell, Bermuda Hotel Association president and owner of The Reefs, said: "It's a catch-22 in that you're responding to the marketplace with what you feel the market wants, and its not what you want at the end of the day.

"Whether it's all weekend packages is another question. It might be that people choose to fit it in on a weekend, but people will take it on weekdays too because of cheaper airfares.

"We would like to have longer stays because it keeps people with you longer.

It's less marketing to do and less expensive.'' However, he said, European and British visitors were still staying 10 days to two weeks.

Although he was not comfortable with relying on arrival figures, he believed occupancy would be up this year.

"We should finish ahead of last year in terms of final occupancy, and that translates into revenue.'' On the impact of the St. George's ship, he said it was too early to tell.

Hotels would maybe have to put more money into their marketing effort in the north-east.

Mr. Dennis Tucker, vice-president of Sonesta Beach, said of short breaks: "We must provide what the customers want. I can't say that the hotels are shooting themselves in the foot because of it, because they are not dictating how the customers are going to travel.'' Latest Government figures show visitor arrivals so far this year are 12 percent up on last year.

For the week November 15-21, the increase was 17.3 percent.