January 3, 2002

Dear Sir,

The following quote "...Bermuda cannot afford to write off tourism..." in today's editorial prompted me to write this letter.

There is much evidence around us to suggest taht perhaps we already have written off tourism. Interestingly enough also today, Bermuda College received a grant of $200,000 for the sole benefit of students entering the finance and insurance fields. It seems to me that the tourism industry needs to be rebuilt from the ground up starting with education and continuing with promotion. The mid-Atlantic repeat visitor is now reaching retirement age and with the abandonment of college weeks their children and grandchildren now take cruises.In any case the question I am asking prompted by your editorial is this, based upon price, service and friendliness have we not already written tourism off?

Looking at price, other commentary today suggested that high airfares are the reason for tourists decline. Maybe so. However, Bermuda has and continues to be known as a pricey resort. Consumers also know that you get what you pay for and while rip-off may not be easily defined consumers know it when they experience it. So then, what justifies price? I would posit quality and service. Recently I was a guest for four nights in a four star hotel at $85 per night double occupancy. This Florida hotel provided complimentary van transportation to the beach and shopping areas. The service ran from 9.30 a.m. to 9.30 a.m. I am not suggesting eliminating taxis but some of those drivers might like regular part-time employment as a van driver and possibly gain medical insurance benefits from their employer while maintaining their taxi business and saving on insurance premiums.

There were other nice touches all complimentary - continental breakfast, a newspaper (USA Today) at the door in the morning and Wall Street Journals in the lobby. Finally get this, an overnight shoe shine service. What hotels services do we provide to justify our pricey reputation?

We like to think that we are friendly people but I am not so sure. In search of Mexican food I visited Playa del Carmen. I arrived at 8 p.m. and the whole town was alive with locals and tourist in the streets. Everything is open, souvenir shops, pharmacies and even the barber shop. My taxi driver told me that everything is open at least until 11 p.m. Many of the restaurants provided live local music that could be either seen or heard walking along the street. Side walk cafes were everywhere. I selected one restaurant that was particularly busy. The waiters found a table on the balcony within minutes. The meal at $44 for two was wonderful! After the bill was paid the waiter shook my hand and thanked me for coming and invited me to come again anytime. Never in my Bermudian dining experience has that ever happened. Further if a local restaurant was that busy would the wait staff hustle or would they complain about working too hard for too little pay? Would the maitre d' suggest that service is slow because they are so busy tonight. In any case my purpose is not to be negative or critical by comparison but indicate that the places I visited would get a return visit and recommendation from me in a heartbeat. Perhaps we can take notes recognising that we have some challenges to overcome regarding our tourism product.

My gratitude to my travel agent for providing an itinerary that yielded a wonderful vacation based upon price, service and friendliness.

ANTHONY E. WADE

Warwick