Eight out of ten respondents to a Royal Gazette poll says Bermuda should not have used stock pictures from other places in its tourism advertisements.

A total of 963 respondents took part in the poll, which follows controversy over the use of the stock photographs from Hawaii, the Seychelles and Florida.

Although the Department of Tourism has argued the use of stock photos is not unusual and was only intended to "create a mood", the story has attracted widespread attention around the world with some advertising experts saying Bermuda was wrong.

Respondents to the www.theroyalgazette.com poll agreed, with 81.9 percent saying "no" to the question: "Should Bermuda have used stock photos from other places in its advertising?"

Just 6.7 percent said "yes, while 9.7 percent said they did not care and 1.7 percent said thy did not know.

The poll began last Friday and ended at 1 p.m. yesterday.