promote itself as a "safe and comfortable'' holiday destination, tourism officials said in response to polls that placed safety as foremost on visitors' minds.

Last week, delegates at a tourism conference in Madrid were advised of opinion polls that showed tourists are becoming more and more concerned about their safety when travelling abroad.

In fact, conference participants were told, personal safety had become one of the primary considerations among people who were planning an overseas vacation.

Travellers were also avoiding such places as Turkey and North Africa, both of which have witnessed a rise in attacks on their visitors, conference members heard.

But Bermuda, which saw a spate of hotel break-ins and assaults against visitors in 1994, doesn't have to worry too much about its reputation for safety, local tourism officials said.

"There's certainly no indication that Bermuda isn't still an attractive destination in terms of safety,'' Tourism Director Mr. Gary Phillips told The Royal Gazette .

"I can refer to a recent visitor study in which we asked people who were boarding planes in the US a battery of questions on their impressions of Bermuda, including safety.

"Of those people, some 75 percent said they perceived Bermuda as a safe and comfortable place to visit.

"When we went back to see if their experiences matched their perceptions, over 90 percent said they did. So the reality of being in Bermuda was better than their perceptions.'' Added Mr. Phillips, who said that outgoing visitors are also regularly polled: "Although we should never slip into complacency, we don't have to be too concerned as long as visitor experiences continue to surpass perceptions.'' Shadow Tourism Minister Mr. David Allen, meanwhile, agreed in principle with his Government colleague, saying that his informal survey of tourism professionals at a recent conference in Lisbon had produced positive if cautious responses.

"They felt Bermuda is still pretty safe, but they also said that it's something we have to keep on top of,'' Mr. Allen said. "For example, I would hate to see a situation in Bermuda in which visitors only feel comfortable when they are staying in large hotels. We want visitors to feel comfortable when walking day or night.'' Mr. Allen added that Government still wasn't as "pro-active'' as it could be in terms of visitor safety.

"I have been to destinations in which carefully worded, non-alarmist travel advisories are actually placed in visitors' hands as they go through immigration,'' Mr. Allen said. "To be forearmed is to be forewarned.'' Mr. Allen, who said he has advocated such "simple'' anti-crime measures as increased foot patrols in known mugging areas, also warned against complacency on the issue.

An increase in Police on foot patrol at beaches and other areas frequented by tourists helped Barbados to quell its crime-against-visitors problem, according to Barbados Tourism Authority's marketing officer Ms Linda Christian-Clarke.

Ms Linda Christian-Clarke was visiting the Island last week with cricket legend Sir Garfield Sobers.

She told The Royal Gazette Barbados noticed an increase in crime against visitors when it was going through economic problems.

"As a direct result of this the government increased patrols in areas where visitors were,'' Ms Christian-Clarke said, "because like Bermuda, Barbados realises tourism is the key of our economy.'' The independent island also designated special areas for pedlars to sell their wares, instead of on the beaches.

Ms Christian-Clarke said as a result of this crime against visitors decreased.