some have called "suicidal'' industrial action by the Bermuda Industrial Union.

Many traders were banging their heads in frustration yesterday as they saw all hopes of a much-needed upturn in business seemingly destroyed by the new labour unrest.

"Just when you thought it could not get any worse, this has to happen,'' said one businessman.

Some were so pessimistic about early prospects of a settlement that they have already begun cancelling orders for new supplies from abroad.

Several hotels on the Island reported that some guests had cut short their holiday and checked out early as a result of the non-stop rain and industrial situation.

Businesses in the far ends of the Island, in St. George's and the West End, appear to be suffering more than those in Hamilton.

Mr. Terry Roberts, who owns three souvenir stores in St. George's and one in Hamilton, said: "I've already made several overseas phone calls and put substantial amounts of goods on hold or even cancelled because of what's happening and the possibilities of what could happen. It's really quite scary.'' The number of tourists visiting St. George's had dropped off dramatically over the last few days, he said, adding: "We've been hit by a double whammy.'' The weather had deterred tourists from riding their bikes to the town and had caused the cancellation last week of the weekly stopover of the Horizon cruise ship.

Now, tourists cannot even get there by bus because of the industrial action, he said.

Mr. Roberts applauded what he interpreted to be an "extremely strong'' Government stance in the dispute. "It's time we had everything straightened out once and for all,'' he said.

Mr. Eldon Trimingham, president of Trimingham Brothers Ltd., called the dispute "crazy''.

"We've got a situation where tourists are being victimised. They have no connection with the problems that exist and yet are being made to carry their bags to the airport,'' he said.

"It will be a long time before we recover from this. People overseas are going to be saying `there they are fighting amongst themselves again'. When's it all going to end?'' Meanwhile, there were mixed reports among retailers over whether tourists had shopped more over the last three weeks when there has been little else to do because of the deluge of rain.

Some reported increased takings, others said they had dropped but all said it did not really matter because too much rain was ultimately disastrous for Bermuda.

Mr. Ronald K. Maughan, director of English Sports Shop Ltd., which has stores all over the Island, said: "Two or three days of rain a week is good for business, but any more than that and you have to deal with some pretty cantankerous people.

"We've seen a tremendous increase of traffic in Hamilton because of the rain but fewer people have been venturing out to St. George's and the West End.'' Although there were more people in the City, many were just browsers and business had not increased, he said.

Mr. Henry Vesey, president of H.A. and E. Smith's, said Bermuda would get fewer repeat visitors in the future as a result of the recent weather.

"A lot of people are really fed up with it and are not going to come back or recommend Bermuda to their friends and family,'' he said.

"Rain might be all right for business in the short term but not in the long term. I don't think this is something we want to brag about.'' Elbow Beach hotel reported that four couples checked out early last week and left for home because they could no longer stand the rain. Other hotels also said that some guests had left early.

Mr. John Casling, who owns the Bananas T-shirt, beach and sportswear stores, said the rain had led to a substantial increase in sales but he added: "The tourists aren't very happy to say the very least and that's not good for us.'' Mr. Thomas Vesey, manager of wholesale firm Tropic Traders, which sells souvenirs, said Bermuda's tourism industry would be hit hard by all the unrest.

"This dispute is causing uncertainty,'' he said. "No big group is going to send their people here at the moment. They would be fools to take the chance.'' He said that business had been beginning to pick up before the strike action.