Travel agents from as far away as Germany saw yesterday what Bermuda had to offer visitors between November and March.

Tourism Director Mr. Gary Phillips told the 150 travel agents who converged on the Royal Naval Dockyard's Clock tower yesterday that he wanted to "explode the myths'' which existed about the Island during the winter months.

Mr. Phillips said he wanted to educate his listeners so that they could return home with a better understanding of what Bermuda had to offer during this period and help increase business to the Island.

For those clients who were looking for something different than "the sun and sand resort'', he said, Bermuda offered "a refreshing change of pace''.

Mrs. Janice Bell of Travel Associates in Mill Valley, California said she had learned `a great deal'' while she was on the Island.

She admitted that Bermuda was a "hard sell'' for her because Hawaii and Mexico were much closer. The few clients she sent here were looking for "British influence in a tropical setting''.

However she said she now knew Bermuda was a "hidden dive resort'' which offered the added attraction of diving on shipwrecks and not just coral reefs.

She said this would be one of her prime selling points.

Mrs. Patricia Limauro of Plaza Travel in New Haven, Connecticut said she was going home with a different attitude now that she realised it was so warm here during the winter.

She said this would appeal to her clients who were in the "snow-belt'' of the US. She agreed that Bermuda was expensive but said she felt visitors "got what they paid for''.

Mrs. Limauro said she sent a lot of her summer customers here and no one had ever been disappointed because it was the "nicest and safest of all the Caribbean islands'' but added her winter business for the Island had been low.

Mrs. Sarah Tolley of Main Street Travel in Ontario, Canada said she felt the trade show was "well laid out'' and "dynamic''.

She said she loved the Island but only suggested it to vacationers, during these months, in the 35- to 59-year-old age group with an income of at least $75,000 per year.

"Bermuda is not for the budget traveller, it is a more upscale holiday.'' The agents gathered from Germany, Canada and the US for the Department of Tourism's annual trade show which featured displays from hotels, sightseeing operations, businesses and a slide and video show from the Tourism Department.

Mr. Phillips told The Royal Gazette that the agents would be focused on Bermuda while they were here but what really mattered was how they persuaded their clients to visit the Island when got home.