of European tourism with the launching this year of a travel trade magazine on the Continent.

`Dateline Europe' will be sent to travel agents throughout Europe. And it will include a German language section, to be distributed only in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

"The time is ripe for Bermuda to have an additional vehicle to market itself in Europe, which is the world's most rapidly growing source of overseas visitors,'' said editor and publisher of the magazine Mr. David Allen MP, the Shadow Tourism Minister.

Mr. Allen already publishes `Bermuda Dateline' which is circulated in North America.

From the number of advertisements taken out in `Dateline Europe', Mr. Allen believes local hotels and the Tourism Ministry recognise that there is a potentially lucrative market in Europe.

"They see advertising in Europe as a way of gaining additional occupancies and raising their profile,'' he said.

Mr. Allen added the initiative was receiving considerable support from the London Tourism office.

The Tourism Ministry, which is now taking a spirited look at promoting Bermuda in Europe -- it's about to unveil several special ads to lure Europeans -- has taken the back cover of the magazine, he said.

Mr. Allen pointed out: "Germany alone is expected to outstrip the United States in numbers of international tourists by the year 2000, and the countries of Europe comprise a population of 350 million and a GNP of $5 trillion.

"It doesn't take many European tourists to make a significant difference in Bermuda. Europeans stay on average twice as long as Americans and tend to spend more.''