SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- The Atlantis resort in the Bahamas says it has laid off roughly 800 employees, blaming low occupancy rates as the global economic crisis curbs tourists' appetites for exotic getaways.

The cuts represent about 10 percent of the work force at the country's largest private employer.

''This decision is both difficult and emotional as we are fully aware of the impact on the employees affected, the remaining staff and the Bahamian community in general,'' said George Markantonis, president of hotel owner Kerzner International Bahamas Limited.

The Atlantic archipelago's tourism-driven economy is reeling from a steep decline in visitors from the United States. Hundreds of other hotel workers already have lost jobs or seen their hours reduced.

Atlantis covers three-quarters of Paradise Island, an 800-acre island just off the capital, Nassau, and is known for its large marine habitat and fantastical pink towers. It completed a $1 billion expansion last year that brought its number of rooms to nearly 3,000.

Sol Kerzner, chairman and CEO of Kerzner International, said Wednesday that the layoffs at its flagship resort reflect cost-cutting throughout the company, which develops and operates casinos and hotels around the globe.

The United States typically accounts for more than 80 percent of tourist visits to the Bahamas. The decline began early this year and accelerated with the global economic crisis, said Georgina Delancy, research manager for the Bahamas Tourism Ministry.

''When September hit, things went south,'' Delancy said.

A hotel workers union is tapping a rainy day fund for the first time to help underemployed members pay their bills. As many as 6,000 workers will receive $1,000 payments, said Roy Colebrook, president of the Bahamas Hotel, Catering and Allied Workers Union.

Colebrook said the entire industry has been rattled by a tourism drought that has left half the country's hotel rooms empty in the months leading up to its peak season.

People ''will try to find some other line of work,'' he said.

In a nationally televised address Monday, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham announced measures to contain unemployment, which he said was likely to rise from 8.7 percent this year to the low double digits.

He said the government will create jobs by accelerating a dozen public works projects, including a new school, road construction and improvements to Nassau's international airport.

Delancy said tourism in the former British colony has not faced such a serious challenge since the months following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

''We expect to bounce back,'' she said.

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