promising start to the massive marketing offensive in the US.

Phones have been busier than usual with eye-catching newspaper advertisements triggering a wave of interest among potential visitors.

The interest, however, has failed to turn into a flood of bookings -- at least so far.

In a snap Royal Gazette survey taken last week most hoteliers drew comfort from slim increases.

They pinned their hopes on a visitors' surge as the tourism season gets into full swing.

Mr. Peter Smith, the Department of Tourism's assistant director of marketing, was delighted by the amount of interest whipped up.

"The telephones are ringing, and there is a lot of activity. It is an important element in the campaign.'' He conceded, however, bookings were not coming in to the degree he would like.

The Bermuda Breaks campaign involves advertisements -- up to three-quarters of a page in size -- in traditional tourism territory.

Cities included New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Hartford, Washington, and Atlanta.

The ads feature a range of Bermudian tourist accommodation, including hotels, guest houses, apartments and cottage colonies, as part of a new collective promotion.

The driving message has been affordability -- to kill off the image of an over-priced destination.

Mr. Stephen Martin, owner of Bermuda Small Properties, said the momentum was picking up.

His bookings had already risen by 5.6 percent over the same time last year.

And there had been a 4.28 percent dollar volume increase for the entire group.

"The campaign has created quite a lot of interest, and generated awareness,'' said Mr. Martin.

"It is being converted into bookings, although it's difficult to quantify how much is down to the campaign.'' Mr. Martin said the campaign's aims were threefold: to generate awareness of Bermuda; promote a perception of affordability; and drive business by creating general awareness through travel agents and wholesalers.

Overall, the marketing drive, which runs until October, was having a positive effect, he added.

Mr. George Robinson, managing director of Grotto Bay, also spoke of increased awareness and interest from the campaign.

His hotel was not yet, however, reaping the full dividends.

Bookings for April trailed last year's, and they were also down for the first two weeks of May.

Ms Nancy Pagano, marketing director for Wyndham resort properties, which include Elbow Beach, likewise commented on increased interest.

An attractively-priced "Escape to Bermuda'' package had spurred a rush of bookings.

"We're booked through to the end of August in that category,'' she said.

Other packages, however, hadn't attracted so much interest to date.

Ms Ellen Lipez, vice-president of marketing for Princess Hotels International, told The Royal Gazette : "We have really high hopes for the campaign.

"The department has put together the most comprehensive marketing campaign and we are delighted to be participating.

"We are certainly seeing an increase in the volume of telephone calls, and feel it is building momentum.'' Ms Lipez said it would take another six weeks to assess the full initial impact of the campaign, and she had no statistics to hand.

She added her company was also launching a solo series of advertisements this month.

Mr. David Boyd, manager of Sonesta Beach, was encouraged by the early signs.

A $179 package had brought in a stream of bookings each week, he said.