means that the season for visitors is not far behind. We can only urge Bermudians this year to think and think again about what each and every one of us can do to make a visitor's vacation a little better. It is important to remember that we are all in the vacation business and we all benefit from the visitors' dollars.

Bermudians have a high reputation for being both friendly and helpful to those who choose to come here. They do not have to come because there are plenty of other resorts they can patronise and many of them come because of Bermuda's welcoming attitude. It costs us nothing to share our own pleasure in our country with our visitors and a smile, a little courtesy and little help cost us nothing but they all go a long way towards the pleasure of a vacation. Our high price maintains our own high standard of living and we should be careful to offer something extra.

Tiny things all add to Bermuda's welcome. Being friendly counts for a good deal especially early in a vacation. As an example, cruise ship captains have been known to point out the woman who runs outside her home to wave at passengers on the decks of cruise ships as they sail into Hamilton.

Bermudians have to take special care in areas where we know there have been complaints. Some visitors are not the easiest people to deal with nor are they the easiest people to make happy and keep happy. However our aim should be to treat them well even when they are difficult because that is the Bermudian way. Be nice to them anyway and maybe, just maybe, they will be converted into a happy visitor. Some people do come here because they need a rest having been "stressed out'' by the pressures of urban North America and when they arrive they are not at their best. A little Bermudian warmth could set them right and bring them back here again. It might also encourage them to tell their friends to choose Bermuda which is the best advertising any resort can get.

We know there have been complaints about the welcome at the Airport, about the friendliness of service in some stores, about attitudes in some of our hotels, about the taxi and bus service, about the quality of some restaurants and, in general, about the way some people in a service industry treat some visitors.

To be fair, many visitors rave about the friendly and helpful way they are treated but, over the years, the "unfavourable ratings'' seem to have grown.

An unhappy visitor tells any number of friends and co-workers not to come to Bermuda and that is self-defeating for Bermuda. A lost visitor impacts on us all.

Sometimes the sheer number of visitors makes it hard to be as nice to everyone as we would like to be. Bermuda and the service industry can be stressful too.

Often there is just not time to stop in a busy situation to take the care to do a little extra. We understand that, but the point we make is that we should try our best wherever and whenever we can.

It is important as the season begins to decide that we are going to do well by our visitors just because we want them to like Bermuda. No-one can ask for more.