of the food and the drink.

And as for the Island's much-maligned immigration and Customs procedures, these are generally excellent too.

Who says so? The travel agents who are in the business of selling Bermuda.

The Royal Gazette has obtained a copy of the results of the Department of Tourism's 1994 Bermuda On-Island Briefing.

And it makes pretty good reading for hoteliers and their staff.

The Department of Tourism, with the help of hotels and airlines, organises the briefing during the last quarter of the year.

It is designed to give agents a chance to learn about Bermuda and how to sell it.

Over the last four years, the agents have also been surveyed about their Bermudian experience.

Last year, 594 agents took part in the briefing, and 505 completed questionnaires, handing out grades ranging from"excellent'' to "poor''.

They generally gave Bermuda a much higher "excellent'' rating on many tourism features, leading the report on the survey to boast: "The 1994 Briefing may be considered one of the best since 1991 when agents were first surveyed.'' Of the 491 who commented on the hotels, 46 percent said they were "excellent'' and 33 percent gave them a "good rating''.

As for staff efficiency the figures were even better -- 63 percent said "excellent'' and 24 percent said "good''.

And, traditional Bermudian friendliness earned staff better marks still.

Seventy-two percent of agents thought staff were "excellent'' and 19 percent "good''.

For agents looking for a good meal were not disappointed, judging by the results.

Of the 503 who commented on the food, 70 percent described it as "excellent'' and 25 percent "good''.

Beverages fared only slightly worse; 64 percent of the 492 agents who answered this category considered their drinks "excellent'' and 30 percent rated them "good''.

And what about immigration and customs procedures? Sixty-six percent of 496 agents who answered this part of the survey gave an "excellent'' rating.