the fish are.

A feature on tourism in yesterday's Royal Gazette revealed that Barbados has suffered from declines in arrivals from North America just as Bermuda has, but has been able to offset the declines with increased visitors from the UK and Europe.

Bermuda has also seen some growth from the UK and Europe in the last few years, largely due to the addition of a fourth British Airways flight each week.

Tourism officials will argue that restrictions in air agreements has made it difficult for the Island to schedule more direct flights. This may now change if the Island is, as promised this week, able to schedule more charter flights.

It is important to note that Bermuda has always had the ability to bring in some charters, and there was an ill-fated bid to establish a charter route from Germany a few years ago. It was eventually dropped due to poor passenger figures. Now the Department of Tourism wants to launch a summer charter flight from Italy next August, when Italians traditionally take the month off.

The French and Germans do the same thing, and Bermuda, with the right marketing and the right prices, should be able to exploit this opportunity.

In the end, however, visitors will still choose to come to Bermuda (and to come back again) based on price and product, and Bermuda has yet to get its house in order in these areas.

SAVING WATER EDT Saving water A year ago, The Royal Gazette ran a story and editorial announcing a drought, sparking about three days of straight rain.

This editorial may bring about a much-needed downpour as well. That would be welcome, but will not solve the real problem: Bermuda residents are far more careless about water use than they used to be.

Despite a dry May and June, rainfall for the year to date is just about the same as the avrage for the first six months of the year.

But the drilling of the fresh water lens and the development of reverse osmosis and desalination plants makes water far easier to get, meaning that when a tank runs dry, help is just a phone call away.

This comes at a cost. The lens is not a reusable resource; once it is exhausted, it could be lost forever. Residents should practise the water conservation measures which used to be a habit. In the meantime, Government should also consider limiting new permits for fresh water wells. This may be unfair, but it is a small price to pay for conserving the lens for future generations.