ever welcomed to its shores.

They are travel agents, tour operators and airline representatives -the vital link between the Island and millions of potential visitors.

The trade representatives were here for Government's annual Bermuda Briefing, when tourism officials host a hectic round of visits and receptions designed to woo the most hard-bitten travel worker.

The group -- mostly travel agents from the States, plus colleagues from Canada and Britain -- arrive in three weekly waves.

Government pays out $150,000 in transport costs, tips and contributions to the hotels which accommodate the guests.

And at the end of the guests' stay, ordinary Bermudians open their homes and give them a taste of Island hospitality.

Yesterday the final wave of 212 guests invaded Marriott's Castle Harbour hotel for a trade show.

This was a crucial chance for Bermuda's guest houses, cycle liveries, attractions and restaurants to sell themselves.

Ms. Tina Taylor, of Sonesta Beach Hotel, took a break from smiling and shaking hands to explain the importance of the briefing.

"It's good because they get to see the Island at first hand and visit the property,'' she said. "It's better than just sending information to them. And for the majority of them it's their first visit to Bermuda.'' Boston travel agent Mr. Richard Archer agreed.

"It was an opportunity for me because I hadn't been here and we do sell quite a lot of Bermuda to people in the northeast,'' he said. "It's a good opportunity to see what type of service you get, and what the Island's really like. You know what you're selling.

"People here are very friendly, and the temperature's nice. A lot of people don't just come here for the beach, a lot just want to relax, play golf and have privacy. It's beautiful and tranquil.'' On the negative side, Mr. Archer was concerned about prices. "I feel that in the past few years you may have been pricing yourselves a little bit out of the market.'' But price was not an issue with fellow travel agent Mrs. Bonnie Roebuck, from Toronto.

"There's always a market for Bermuda and people know that the prices are not going to be like the Dominican Republic. You get what you pay for, and you're getting the service and the hotel standards.'' Mrs. Roebuck was finding the cloudy November weather pleasantly comfortable, and the briefing good fun. "It's definitely valuable. A lot of tourist boards don't invest in educating their agents, and then it's very difficult to sell the product.

"By coming here you discover the distances between things and what the hotels are really like.

"I'm finding people are very genuine and sincere. It's not just because we have blue Bermuda Briefing badges on that they say "Hi'' to us.

"It's a lot different from some of the Caribbean Islands, where they're sick of tourists. And you feel very safe here.''