occupancy figures, a frequent visitor to the Island said yesterday.

Massachusetts resident Jack Morse told The Royal Gazette that he and his wife were on the Island over the weekend of May 5 for their "20th plus visit'' to Bermuda in the last 30 years.

During the trip, he continued, they heard reports concerning declining hotel occupancies versus the influx of cruise ship visitors.

He said there could be a partial solution to the problem if Bermuda looked to the many people who had visited the Island since the 1950s and wished to continue doing so.

"Unfortunately we are getting old. People at our age are beginning to have physical problems. My wife happens to be 100 percent wheelchair confined,'' said Mr. Morse.

"Adapting your hotel and tourist industry to handicapped needs will, I believe, increase your hotel occupancy rate while not changing its fixed cost base very much.'' People in this age bracket were in a position to travel as "the kids are gone, college tuitions and the mortgages have been paid off'', he said.

"We now want to enjoy ourselves,'' said Mr. Morse.

Flights from the US and Europe were the easy part of a vacation to Bermuda and the Island had to become handicapped and wheelchair user-friendly.

Disabled visitor criticises Island Mr. Morse said "while struggling throughout the Island'' during their vacation, he and his wife found: Many hotels do not have wheelchair accessible rooms; Many do not have wheelchair accessible public toilets; A lack of unisex handicapped toilets throughout the Island; A lack of elevators between different street levels and in stores; and Sections of the Front Street sidewalk which were covered, and offered protection from the rain, were inaccessible.

He suggested that the director of public works borrow a wheelchair and attempt to roll himself down one side of Front Street and back up the other side.

Mr. Morse admitted there were cutouts from sidewalk level to road level but said these were very steep.

He added that hotel general managers, restaurant and store owners should also try similar exercises which would reveal how accessible their respective establishments actually were.

Mr. Morse had praise for the Government ferries although he noted: "Thanks, perhaps, to mopeds, they are wheelchair accessible.'' And he commended the Bermuda International Airport for having handicapped toilets just inside the security area but suggested that jetways be considered during the upgrade of the Airport.

And Mr. Morse said the line for residents and handicapped passengers often led to wheelchair bound people sitting at the back of the line because they were normally the last people off the plane.

"There may be a good medical reason to keep their time in line short,'' he added.

Several taxis also charged extra baggage for a wheelchair, continued Mr.

Morse. "It's more principle than cost.'' Bermuda Physically Handicapped Association (BPHA) chairman Willard Fox agreed with Mr. Morse.

"Bermuda has very poor handicapped facilities although they are improving very slowly due to the work of the BPHA.

"We are always trying to convince Government that the handicapped visitor is just as important to the Bermuda economy as able-bodied people. They do have money to spend.'' Mr. Fox said the BPHA had to fight Government constantly to get things put in place for the handicapped.

He added that he had received calls from handicapped visitors asking for help and advice.

"They ask what's available but there's not too much that we can tell them.'' Mr. Fox said the Aquarium and Bermuda Glassblowing Ltd. were accessible sightseeing spots while Take Five, Loyalty Inn and the Colony Pub were ideal restaurants.

The Carriage House was also accessible, he continued, but its bathrooms were not.

He said the Princess Hotel had accessible rooms as did Elbow Beach and Pink Beach but admitted "there is not much choice'' when it came to accommodation.

St. George's establishments were particularly inaccessible, continued Mr. Fox, while the Corporation of Hamilton were conscious of making changes to accommodate the handicapped.

He recommended that when visitors called restaurants to ask if they were accessible or not, they should also ask whether they were "totally accessible''.

"Sometimes they say yes -- `through the kitchen','' said Mr. Fox, "but we don't take the cockroach approach any more.'' TOURIST TOU