welcomed as a symbol of Government's determination to help tourism to reverse its long decline.

This initiative alone will not bring back the halcyon days of 1980 when tourism broke all records. And it is questionable whether Bermuda wants or needs to return to the days when more than 600,000 visitors came for vacations each year.

But Tourism Minister David Allen's legislation should enable the Island's surviving hoteliers to bring their hotels up to the high standards which modern tourists demand, and to do so at a more reasonable cost.

It should also encourage potential developers of some of the closed hotels to see that they can make a reasonable return on their investments. At the moment, developers are often keen on Bermuda until they get down to the nuts and bolts of financing; then they run for the Airport.

Nonetheless, there are several unanswered questions on the legislation: There is no indication of how much this could cost the taxpayer in the long run. Nor is there indication, at least in the short term, of where the lost revenue will be made up from.

As Shadow Tourism Minister David Dodwell warned, five star buildings will benefit no-one if they are not accompanied by five star service, both within the hotels and in the wider community.

Exchanging duty breaks on liquor in return for local entertainment gives no assurance that today's visitors want to listen to local entertainment. In the end, local musicians will have to draw crowds based on their own talent and understanding of their audience, not on the basis of cheap drinks.

More broadly, subsidies of any kind are dangerous if, instead of encouraging innovation and enterprise, they encourage laziness and dependency.

Bermuda's tourism industry still has to prove it can compete with the world based on price and service. If the concessions outlined in the Act bring better plant and that enables the owners to improve service as well, then Bermuda has a fighting chance.

If they merely encourage sloppiness and a return to the Government trough for more hand-outs, then they should be abolished quickly.

BASE REPORT EDT Base report It is hard to know whether Bermuda should be relieved or despondent about the latest report on pollution at the former Bases.

The ERM report commissioned by the British Government apparently says that the level of contamination left by the US Navy is not as severe as earlier reports stated.

That's good news, right? Well, no, since it may mean that the US Government will feel even less of an obligation to clean up the mess than they have admitted to up until now.

Nonetheless, the fact remains that the US Navy did leave significant levels of pollution and have a moral obligation to deal with it.