Japanese visitors to Bermuda.

And the hotels are advertising for liaison staff for this market.

"Princess Properties, actively seeking to attract Japanese visitors to Bermuda, require competent individuals to liaise between all areas of our two luxury resort operations and this developing market,'' the ad read.

"The successful candidates must be fluent in Japanese, knowledgeable of the Japanese culture and customs and ideally have experience in the resort or tour travel industry.'' Princess regional vice president Mr. Stephen Barker said tour operators, travel agents, travel writers and other specialists who recently visited the Island all thought Bermuda would be a great place for Japanese visitors.

He said they were impressed with the Island's beauty, the water, the climate, the friendliness of the people and the golf courses.

"Japanese are well-known travellers, come from a wealthy country, and have a high standard of living,'' he added.

But, Mr. Barker said, Bermuda cannot tap into that market without the proper support staff in hotels.

And he said while Princess is "aggressively pursuing this prospect for business, without the proper support staff, it cannot develop into anything useful''.

"A lot of potential travellers speak little or no English,'' Mr. Barker said, "and they will only come to Bermuda if they feel welcome.

"We attract people from all over the world. Europeans come to Bermuda and can very easily fit into the environment and culture.

"But we don't have anyone who speaks Japanese -- it is a different language and culture.'' "We must cater to the needs of all our guests. But this is one basic need that cannot be satisfied at this time.

"It is very important to us, and the country, that this market be developed.

But it will only be developed with support staff such as we are advertising for.'' The newly created positions require applicants with interpersonal skills as they will be responsible for "overseeing the entire guest experience, including airport greeting, front desk operations, restaurant reservations, translations, sports activities, shopping and Island tours''.