off-season business.

The plan is that if the temperature dips below 68 degrees, tourists will get compensation such as discounted hotel rates, cheap shopping or bottles of champagne.

Industry heads are hoping the idea will end the myth of Bermuda being cold in the winter and will save winter air connections under threat.

A package has been worked out with larger hotels in which visitors will be able to get compensation such as 20 percent off their room rate if the 68 degree barrier is broken.

Organisers originally hoped all hotels would take part on the same basis. But smaller properties who feel they cannot join the discount programme plan to offer other bonuses, like bottles of wine, and take part in a separate programme with a similar theme.

The guaranteed weather idea came from a special November-March committee, set up in the spring after American Airlines warned it could no longer absorb off-season losses and continue serving the Island in those months.

The committee, which brought together tourism officials, businessmen and hoteliers, set about seeing how it could cut the cost of a Bermuda vacation.

It recruited Tourism's New York advertisers, DDB-Needham, to research consumers' attitudes.

"One of the things that came out was the perception that Bermuda was 45 or 50 degrees in the winter,'' said committee chairman Mr. Paul Leseur, of Lantana Colony Club.

"We learnt that the one idea that seemed to come out the winner amongst all groups was this idea of a weather guarantee. We found the marketplace did not realise the average daytime temperature was 74 degrees in November and the average in December was 71, and that in January, February and March it can be around 67.

"We tried to get a consensus that every day the temperature dropped in January, February and March below 68 degrees the guests as a guarantee would get a rebate. All of the large hotels, with the exception of the Belmont -- which has a special golfing clientele in the winter -- have agreed to this, but unfortunately the small hotels could not agree.'' Marketing for the scheme would push Bermuda's warm temperatures in November and December and stress the weather guarantee for January through to March, he said.

Stores would get involved by offering their own rebates to hotel guests, he added. Airlines would be joining in too.

Tourism Director Mr. Gary Phillips said: "There has been universal acceptance by the hotel industry that this is a good idea.'' Mr. Leseur said plans were still being finalised, but the scheme needed to be ready by the end of October.

Mr. Phillips said the scheme could work by getting a official reading of the temperature at a particular time each day.

"We'd like to make it a fun thing. We'd like to see people gravitate towards the front desk as a bell is rung and saying `What's happening today?'