Bermuda is set to hit the US west coast in style next year for its first major promotion in more than a decade.

Tourism Minister David Allen will lead the charge as an Island contingent launches a massive publicity drive on the west coast and in the mid-west.

The tour, which could take place in February, is designed to promote the Island in the wake of two new air services announced recently for next summer.

A Trans World Airlines flight from St. Louis, Missouri and a second Delta Air Lines service from Atlanta will enable the Island to tap into markets in states such as California, Texas, Illinois, Colorado and Kansas.

To back up the services and airline's confidence in the Island, tourism officials see it as vital to take Bermuda on the road to key cities in those states.

Mr. Allen said the tour, which would be similar to the US east coast and Canadian tourism revitalisation events this year, would involve hoteliers and the Bermuda Hotel Association.

It is thought that the tour is likely to be more educational than the entertainment extravaganzas that took place in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Toronto and New York.

And follow-up tours to the US east coast next year could be more low key as the focus shifts to the west.

Bermuda Hotel Association chief executive John Harvey applauded the move, recalling the last time Bermuda promoted itself out west between ten and 12 years ago.

"That is a long, long time,'' he said. "You have to educate people about the product, tell them about hotels and what they have to offer.'' The new Delta service, from April to October, will enable passengers from 125 US cities to connect with Atlanta. And its afternoon departure will allow midwest and west coast travellers to make it to the Island in one day.

The news comes as Mr. Allen and tourism staff gear up for next week's World Travel Congress in Strasbourg, France.