Tourism is giving away free tickets to boost audience numbers at the Bermuda Live revue because the show has been such a flop, The Royal Gazette can reveal.

And Tourism Minister David Allen admitted that the show, fronted by local group Exotique, is set to lose to cash when the run ends in October.

Civil servants, taxi drivers and hotel workers have been able to see the show at Dockyard and Club Azure in St. David's for free because there are so many unsold tickets.

Mr. Allen said his department, which has financed the lion's share of the show, is giving away around a dozen tickets a night to civil servants while others have been handed out free to taxi drivers and hotel staff.

Although attendance figures for the show are disappointing, he said they were improving, with around 140 paying guests for Club Azure and 100 for Dockyard.

He told The Royal Gazette: ''We have a quota to give away to civil servants for the show, but paid admissions are also increasing. We had the (ticket) capacity, so we thought why not make them available through word of mouth.

''The cruise ships are now coming through. We've had about 140 paying guests for Club Azure and Dockyard is now at more than 100 per night.

''We're still not getting as many as we would like from the hotels, but the cruise ships have been more supportive.

''I would be surprised if it made any money, but I would hope we can defray as much as we can from ticket sales. I would hope the hotels would continue to do better, but some are making an effort to do better.

''It has had good reviews and good feedback from customers, but it has been very challenging marketing it. The cruise lines have two meal sittings and wanted it later, but the hotels wanted it earlier. It has been helped because there is now an earlier pre-show.''

A free boat to convey people from Hamilton to Dockyard had also helped with the audience figures, he said.

The show has been funded by Tourism and the Bermuda Hotel Association to tackle the lack of live entertainment which has been a frequent complaint among visitors.

When he launched the programme in February, Mr. Allen said he hoped the show would be a profit-making venture which would pay for itself through ticket sales.