letter addressed to Tourism Minister David Allen putting forward suggestions on how the tourism industry on the Island could be improved. Representatives from BIBA, the Department of Tourism and the hospitality industry served as judges for the competition, selecting winners in each of three age categories as well as an overall Grand Prize winner. After reading through some 280 entries the panel awarded 14-year-old Laura Ashton of Bermuda High School with the Grand Prize. The following is Laura's winning letter to Mr. Allen.

Dear Sir, I would like to congratulate you and the Department of Tourism on the progress you have made so far with developing tourism in Bermuda. I have noticed that the number of tourists visiting the island has decreased. Something should be done to improve tourism in Bermuda, especially because many Bermudians have jobs that depend on the tourism industry. I am writing to you to suggest some ideas on how tourism might be improved.

One noticeable thing that would improve tourism is to work on lowering crime rates. This is important to do because tourists want to be safe when they are on vacation. They want to visit a safe, friendly place, which Bermuda has always been known to be. For example, after the unfortunate death of Rebecca Middleton fewer people came to visit the island. Some suggestions on possible ways to lower crime rates are: the Police force could continue to strengthen with new recruits who are trained by experienced officers; more visibility of our Police force; and stricter, more appropriate punishment for crimes committed. Of course, crime cannot be stopped completely -- that is impossible -- but with less crime, I think that more tourists will be encouraged to come to Bermuda.

Most people like to stay in new, clean, comfortable and attractive hotels. As you know, the last new hotel that is still standing is the Southampton Princess that was built in the 1970s. I do not think many of our hotels have been completely revamped recently. This is important because the present visitor is possibly paying more than what they should be for what they are getting.

I have read in the paper that the Government was thinking of paying a company to build a new hotel in Bermuda. This is a good idea, but then tourists would want to stay at this one and the older hotels would be forced to go out of business. An alternative to that idea is for the Government to give grants to the companies that own the existing hotels to either refurbish or rebuild them. This might attract more people to come and stay in the bigger hotels. In advertisements and brochures about Bermuda, the new hotels would be a good point to mention.

I think Harbour nights is a successful attraction. It is a fun activity for tourists. What if Harbour Nights was made into a street festival that ran for a few days like a smaller scale Bermuda Mardi Gras. Some tourists like to plan their visits when a festival is taking place because it gives them something to do and is interesting. It should be a Bermudian celebration, though, with Bermudian traditions like our homemade kites or gombeys. Bermuda Day or the Cup Match Holiday would be an ideal time for a festival. This, too, would be a highlight to mention in a brochure.

I hope that I have been helpful to the Ministry of Tourism in suggesting some ideas on how Tourism in Bermuda might be improved. There are ways to increase the numbers of visitors to the island, but these were a few of the best ideas I thought of. Thank you for your time, and I hope you will consider some of these points.

Yours Faithfully, LAURA L. ASHTON The three first place winning letters in each of the three age categories will be printed in tomorrow's Young Observer section of The Royal Gazette .