The Royal Gazette this week spoke with tourists to find out how they planned to cope with the stormy weather Hurricane Leslie is expected to bring. Most had given up on their holiday plans and were concerned about getting off the Island should the need arise.Elaine Scrobe, visiting from Richmond, Virginia with her husband Dan, said: “Our concern is just whether or not we’re going to be able to leave [tomorrow].”The Virginia resident mentioned that it would not be ‘terribly awful’ to be stuck here for a few extra days.The couple said that they weren’t terribly concerned about the storm effects as they’d lost power for nine days when Hurricane Isabel hit the US East Coast last year.“We had lots of rain but we’re not on an island, of course. We’re inland,” said Mrs Scrobe, speaking of the experience.She said their hotel posted a board with safety measures.“We haven’t really stopped to read it,” she said. “We checked the weather on the TV before we went to bed.”Another couple visiting from London, UK was not concerned for themselves, but for the locals.“Well I only have concerns for the people on the Island and I hope everybody is safe and [that] there isn’t too much damage,” said Neil Tregarthen. “I love Bermuda and I love the people, but as far as we’re concerned, we’re going home.”The couple explained that they were scheduled to leave yesterday, after their September 4 British Airways flight was cancelled.“I was very upset that British Airways cancelled our flight home on Tuesday. But thankfully we’ve managed to rebook it [for travel last night] with no help from British Airways. So we will be in London before it even gets breezy here,” said Mr Tregarthen.Pennsylvania residents Brian and Karen Magazu stayed at the Fairmont Southampton for their visit.“The hotel has notified all the residents and they gave us specific instructions and we have all the information that we need,” said Mr Magazu.Neither was frightened by the news of the coming hurricane. They did, however, offer advice to a few other tourists when they were travelling on the ferry.“We had a big discussion about [the hurricane] coming over on our ride from Southampton,” said Ms Magazu.She said that other couples said that “they’re going to wait it out”.Mr Magazu said that they had been tracking the hurricane since it first developed and said that each day the forecast changes.“Our advice to the other guests was to pay attention; do what [the hotel personnel] say to do,” he said.He continued to explain that the hurricane had a minimal effect on him and his wife, saying that they wanted to do more swimming on South Shore, but instead they shifted their itinerary and planned other activities like visiting Hamilton.“I think that the biggest thing that I heard from everybody was we’ll do what we need to do for safety, but [everyone] was wondering more about the policies of the airlines,” said Mr Magazu.Kevin and Laura Lorentsen, visited from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania for their 25th wedding anniversary.“We got here on Saturday and we were planning on going home Monday September 10,” said Mr Lorentsen.When asked whether he or his wife was at all concerned, he replied: “Well there’s a funny story about that. We’ve been concerned about it for the past 24 hours but we’re here on our 25th wedding anniversary and 25 years ago in August 1987 there was a Hurricane Arlene that arrived while we were here.”The couple explained that they celebrated their honeymoon in Bermuda.“I think it was actually a tropical storm when it hit the Island and we thought when we came back wouldn't it be ironic if we had another hurricane, and sure enough,” he said.Ms Lorentsen explained that they were aware that storms tend to float around the Island in the late summer months, but said that this week was the only time they could get to come to Bermuda.Speaking about their travel plans due to the hurricane, Mr Lorentsen said: “We’re not quite sure what to do, and it’s been very interesting because different people have been giving us different advice.”“Most of the people who live here say Bermuda is ready and that people don’t evacuate. The Island can take it and withstand the hurricane and it’s built to make sure the people are safe.”However, he mentioned that in the US when a hurricane is coming people “run away.”The couple also expressed concerns about the airport and not being able to leave after the storm hits.“Someone was talking about Fabian and how the airport and Causeway got damaged and people weren’t able to leave,” said Mr Lorentsen.“They said several weeks! Someone told us several weeks the airport was closed!” said Ms Lorentsen. She added that “the longer we take to make our decision the longer it looks like we’re staying.”The couple had debated whether they should leave earlier than their scheduled Monday departure.“Two days ago we thought ‘maybe we should leave Wednesday,’ and then Wednesday was a beautiful day. We would have missed a day if we left [on Wednesday], so we’re still not sure,” added Mr Lorentsen.Ms Lorentsen also noted that because the hurricane forecasts keep changing dates, making decisions regarding travel has been difficult.“So we are concerned,” said Mr Lorentsen.“Not terribly worried, but we’re not quite sure what to do. We’re sort of undecided. When we were here on our honeymoon 25 years ago it was nice; it was wonderful. But if we’re going to be here for two days and it’s going to be raining and we’re going to be stuck in the hotel, we're wondering if the lights are going to be out.”