Bermuda in 1997. Each and every one of us can make a contribution to Bermuda which may make a difference to Bermuda's future. One of the few things all Bermudians agree on is that Bermuda's tourism industry is in crisis now and that it will be further threatened by the reopening of Cuba to visitors from the United States.

Tourism is still our basic bread and butter industry because it employs large numbers of Bermudians, many of whom would have difficulty finding employment elsewhere in Bermuda. The extraordinary economy which is Bermuda today was built on tourism and created because Bermuda was the best of the islands. One of the reasons Bermuda was the best of the islands was the friendly and welcoming approach Bermuda took toward visitors who were treated with dignity and respect as guests in our home.

The international company business which is so important to us today was originally intended to be a "second industry'' to diversify Bermuda's economy. Yet as wealth allowed Bermudians to educate their children to standards which most of the world considers extraordinary, the international companies provided them with high level white collar jobs of world standard.

But none of that means that we can afford to ignore tourism. Tourism and the retail sector are interlocking, both of them are large employers of Bermudians and both of them are in trouble.

There has been a great deal of discussion about what has to happen inside the tourism industry. The problems are clear but the solutions are not so easy.

There is an area where the people who are not directly involved in tourism as an industry can play an important part. For some time now we have begun slowly to take visitors, and the high standard of living they provide for us for granted.

We can all make a great difference if we adopt a friendly and welcoming approach toward visitors and treat them with dignity and respect as visitors in our home. That is what they really are, visitors to our home.

That friendly welcome can start at the Airport and on the docks and extend to helping them with directions when they are out on mopeds and giving them a lift when they are standing at bus stops. Do not tail gate them or buzz their cycle when they are unsteady on the roads. They are already having enough trouble with an unfamiliar motor cycle on their wrong side of the road. Bid visitors on the streets a good day and if they seem to be wandering around lost, ask if you can help.

Talk to visitors. They genuinely enjoy meeting Bermudians and hearing about Bermuda.