Bermuda's hotels are to extend a cut price winter promotion and will launch another deal for the summer, The Royal Gazette can reveal.

Under the 'Compliments of Bermuda' programme launched in the Autumn, hotels agreed to cut room rates, airlines provided low fares, and the Department of Tourism gave every visitor who booked through the promotion a $100 voucher to spend on the Island.

The programme was due to finish at the end of this month, but is to be extended for another two months because it has been so successful, said Tourism Minister David Allen yesterday.

He said a four figure number of tourists - between 1,000 and 10,000 - had bought the packages to come to Bermuda.

And a further promotion for summer, though probably without room discounts but with "value-added" benefits for visitors, is to be fine-tuned at a meeting in February with the major wholesalers who sell holiday packages to Bermuda.

"'Compliments of Bermuda' has been so successful we are going to extend it for another two months," said Mr. Allen, speaking from Cancun, Mexico, where he is attending a regional trade summit of leading tourism wholesalers and hotels organised by the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA).

"It has been financed by the Department of Tourism and has being budgeted for and we're in good shape.

"We are still negotiating with our wholesalers for the summer but there will be something that will make Bermuda attractive to the visitor.

"We can't afford to discount substantially in the summer because that's the meat and potatoes for the hotels, but we're looking at value added."

'Compliments of Bermuda' adverts have been appearing in leading U.S. newspapers including the New York Times, offering three night packages, plus air fare and the $100 voucher.

The advertised three night deals were: Grotto Bay $499, Astwood Cove Apartments $519, Surf Side Beach Club $525, Fairmont Hamilton princess $555, Sonesta Beach $555, Newstead $559, Edgehill Manor $559, Fairmont Southampton Princess $575, Elbow Beach $609, Rosedon Guest house $609, Pompano Beach Club $669, and Harmony Club $759.

Mr. Allen and Bermuda Hotel Association held a meeting with the major tourism wholesalers serving the Island in New York in October, and held a follow-up meeting at the three day trade summit in Cancun on Sunday.

Mr. Allen said Bermudian hotels had probably their biggest ever presence at the key summit in which wholesalers - including the vacation arms of corporate giants such as American Express and American Airlines - buy rooms from hotels to sell on to individual travel agents.

For the first time, all of Bermuda's hotels were situated in the same part of the convention hall. Among the local hotels attending were the two Princess hotels, Sonesta Beach, Cambridge Beaches, Daniel's Head, the Harmony Club and Newstead.

"Having all the Bermuda hotels in one line caused quite a stir and people were saying 'boy Bermuda has it's highest presence ever'," said Mr. Allen.

"I've got quite positive reports back and there was definitely some business consummated here by Bermuda."

Resorts in the Caribbean have witnessed declines of 15 to 35 percent, according to the CHA's director general John Bell.

"It's not going to be a good season, but if the weather turns bad in North American that will help," he said.

Hotels across the region have been discounting to stimulate visitors following September 11, although others are fearful it will destroy slim profit margins.

Gene Harden of internet travel company Expedia.com. said there is heavy discounting in the Caribbean. "There are good values and that's what's stimulating travel. The right price always brings people out," he said.

But Ralph Taylor, the president of CHA, said: "Rate-cutting is not the name of the game. It is a matter of offering value for money."

Robbie Goldberg, president of Ontario-based wholesaler Conquest, said: "There are a lot of price reductions and the vast majority of my clients are booking 14 to 21 days out."