usual after the first day of an Island-wide strike failed to hamper operations.

Just 71 out of more than 2,000 unionised hotel workers did not report for work yesterday. Disruption in the hotels seemed minimal, and while hoteliers were generally pleased with the staff turnout, they remained anxious over what the coming days would bring.

The strike comes at a time that most properties are reporting near-full occupancy. Arrivals last week were up 3.5 percent over the same week in 1991.

One hotelier, visibly stressed, said he felt it best not to comment for fear that anything said might inflame the situation, ultimately hurting the hotels and their guests.

"Nobody should be gloating that employees showed up for work (yesterday) because the union may well just dig even harder,'' he said. "The problem is not what the impact is today but what this is doing to our future business.'' At least yesterday, guests at hotels across the Island were more interested in the dramatic turn in the weather than the latest update on the labour front.

Hotel pools and South Shore beaches were packed with visitors desperate to fit in a day of sun before heading home after countless days of rain.

Early afternoon traffic along much of the South Shore was bustling with taxis and limousine bus services travelling to and from the airport. Roads were also crowded with visitors sightseeing by moped.

Minor disruptions were felt at a few of the larger hotels, but at least six properties visited yesterday reported they had a full working staff. The Princess in Pembroke was short about 20 employees in the laundry department, and it is understood that bell staff at Marriott's Castle Harbour Resort failed to report for duty.

West End properties, from the Southampton Princess Hotel to Cambridge Beaches, were relatively quiet, with only the day's check-ins and check-outs creating any activity.

One Connecticut couple passing the time in the Sonesta Beach Hotel lobby said their only disappointment after five days in Bermuda was the constant rain.

But Mr. and Mrs. Chuck Radda, on their first trip out of the US, managed to fit in an hour or so at the beach before their departure yesterday afternoon.

"I was concerned last night when the TV reported there was going to be a general strike,'' Mr. Radda said. "I didn't know who would be affected, whether the airport would close down, or how we would leave the Island.'' Hotels still working "But I think this is the smoothest day we've had so far,'' his wife Deannie added.

Also at Sonesta, a five-day conference involving 185 employees from the worldwide offices of a major Fort Lauderdale, Florida, corporation went off without a hitch, according to one company employee.

Miss Denise McDonald, who came to Bermuda from New Zealand for the Sensor Electronic Corporation annual conference, said the rain was her only real regret.

"We had organised some activities earlier in the week, but we couldn't use mopeds,'' she said. "We haven't had any inconveniences in the hotel at all.

They've posted signs to keep us updated on the strike.'' Philadelphia resident Mr. David Rodoff, who checked into The Reefs with his wife yesterday, said they had no idea before arriving there was an Island-wide strike in Bermuda.

"Our travel agent just told us the usual stuff about the Island,'' Mrs.

Rodoff said. "We're determined to have a good time. We just want to relax.

This is our first visit and as long as we're not affected by it, we don't mind what goes on.'' Mr. Tom Lamb, general manager of Pompano Beach Club where all but four workers were on duty, said his staff fully understood that the crux of the labour dispute was in no way related to the hotel business.

"We haven't had any cancellations yet,'' he said. "I'm worried that things are going to escalate and that will be bad for tourism. The last thing I want is for travel agents to be calling in with cancellations.'' "My staff know there is nothing I can do about the Bermuda Forwarders situation. It's very frustrating. It has nothing to do with us.'' Interviews with hotel employees showed many could simply not afford to stay away from work at a time when the economy is showing no real signs of recovery.

"It's the end of the month, we have commitments to make,'' one Pink Beach Hotel employee said. "There's rent and bills to pay. It doesn't make sense not to show up.

"It was too short of a notice for me to even think about not coming to work.

I've got to be paid and nothing's really going to be solved by my not turning up to work.'' At Grotto Bay, where management does not recognise the BIU, one employee said: "We all have bills to pay and children to feed. We're just thankful we have jobs.'',