A cut-price promotional programme aimed at attracting more visitors to the Island resulted in 2,800 people visiting Bermuda.

Under the Elegant Escapes initiative, the Department of Tourism slashed $200 off the cost of a booking by providing the cash to travel retailers, while hoteliers provided vacationers with a $100 credit to spend on the Island.

Mr. Griffith said the initiative drummed up $1.7 million of business, but it was impossible to tell whether those who booked under the promotion would have come to Bermuda anyway.

Some 2,800 people took advantage of the package, which was for July and August, resulting in 1,385 bookings and 7,000 room nights.

Mr. Griffith told The Royal Gazette, the promotion was reasonably successful, although hoteliers were hoping it would have generated more business.

''With Elegant Escapes, we would have wanted more. It was quite successful, but you could debate if we hadn't done anything, how much business would we have got,'' he said.

''We can't sit down and do nothing. It has generated $1.7 million of business, but whether we would have had that in the first place or not is debatable."