in temperature readings.

Visitors were reported to be furious last week when the different readings deprived them of discounts at hotels and stores.

And Tourism Minister the Hon. C.V. Jim Woolridge has promised to urgently investigate the problem today.

The scheme offers up to 20 percent discounts at participating hotels and stores for every day that the temperature fails to reach 68 degrees.

Hotels phone a number at the Tourism Department and post the temperature for guests to see each day.

The top temperature is also published daily on the front page of The Royal Gazette .

However, last week the figures differed causing hotel managers to be inundated with complaints.

A spokesman for the Southampton Princess said their inquiry desk was flooded with angry visitors when they published a temperature of 68 degrees for Friday, meaning no discount that day.

The cause of their annoyance was that the figure in The Royal Gazette was 65 degrees, which would have meant a discount.

The hotel spokesman said: "I was playing golf that day, and I know the temperature did not reach 68 degrees.

"We had people raising hell because of the conflict and the guests were right. The figure we posted should have been 65.

"We are told to call a special line at the Tourism Department and then post the temperature for people to see. But if they see a different figure in The Royal Gazette they think they are being conned.'' Assistant Director of Marketing at the Tourism Department, Mr. Peter Smith, said that some conflict in the figures had arisen because they were rounded up from fractions of temperatures.

"For example the figure today is 67.6 and it will be rounded up to 68, but we will still be encouraging participating hotels and stores to give the discount. It is confusing.

"The temperature that the hotel is talking about was taken at 2 a.m. when it actually reached a high of 68 degrees. But during the daylight hours it only reached 65 degrees.'' Mr. Woolridge said: "We were concerned about that. Both figures come from the US Naval Air Station forecasters.

"We need to work together so that people do not think we are doing this promotion under false pretences.

"I believe it is working because visitor figures are up on last year and this is the only extra thing we are doing.'' Mr. Woolridge said that visitors he had spoken to had been thrilled by the scheme. "They either get the sun or they get a discount.

"But I do hope we can rectify this because I do not want people feeling they have been done out of their money and taking a bad impression of the Island back home with them.''