three-day seminar that began yesterday and ends tomorrow.

Salespeople, marketing officials and public relations chiefs will meet for two more days of brainstorming in the Somerset Room at the Marriott Castle Harbour Resort.

And their job is made even more difficult because visitors have much choice among hundreds of destinations.

Richard Eve, regional sales manager for the mid-Atlantic region that includes New York State, Southern Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia, is upbeat despite the often dismal prognosis about declining arrivals.

"Two of the most pressing issues facing us are competition and the perceptions of the Island that some Americans have,'' he said.

"Those are the main two. Competition from all the other destinations varies.

Years ago it was the Caribbean or another Island. But with global travel, it is the world.'' For some, the ideal vacation Mr. Eve said, would be to travel from New York to New Hampshire.

To counteract this tendency for Americans to stay at home for vacations, Mr.

Eve said the travel agents are being encouraged to "actively sell Bermuda to their clients.'' This means that if a visitor walks into an east coast travel agency unsure of where to go on vacation the agent is asked to push Bermuda as the place to go.

"We've had some success with this method,'' he added.

Meanwhile, Mr. Eve said perceptions about Bermuda -- it's very expensive, is situated in the Caribbean and cold in winter are but a few -- are also hard to break and require similar work with travel agents.

"We give them presentations and seminars as well as giving them the Island experience. We bring them here for the Bermuda briefing so they can see what we are telling them about.

"That way they are able to see it and relate what they see to what we have said.

"Some have said that we are understating it. Once we have done that they are more willing to say to their clients that they have to go to Bermuda.'' Mr. Eve said that he hoped the 17 sales and administration people he brought would get a deeper appreciation of the Department's overall marketing approach for 1997 and that included both public relations and advertising.

"We hope that when we leave here we have a more complete idea of what we need to go into 1997 and do the best for Bermuda.

"We will seek to synergise our approaches with the marketing and public relations people so that we can have a cohesive force to suck people into Bermuda.'' TOURISM TOU