Eldon Trimingham for outside help in restructuring tourism have again refocused attention on the problems with our main industry.

The most damning statistics presented by the coalition were the comparisons of the decline in visitor arrivals to Bermuda since 1980 at the same time that almost all our Caribbean competitors have seen their arrivals increase, often by leaps and bounds.

There are a number of reasons why: Bermuda needs a new, first class hotel property. While the Southampton Princess continues to win plaudits from abroad for its quality, it is now more than 20 years old and is the last significant hotel property built on the Island; Since 1980, hundreds of rooms have been lost as a result of the closure of guest properties, both large and small; Standards of service have declined; Bermuda is perceived as expensive and visitors are expressing lower levels of satisfaction than they used to; It is not possible for any Bermudian to guarantee that a visit to Bermuda will be a safe one, as they could have in 1980; and The world tourism market is bigger and far more competitive than it was in 1980.

It would be unfair to say that the Tourism Ministry and others are doing nothing to resolve these problems. The Visitor Industry Partnership has been set up to improve service standards, the Airport ambassadors are working to make visitors' arrivals easier and other programmes are also in place.

The Ministry has also introduced a new marketing campaign aimed at attracting younger visitors to the Island. Whether you like the campaign or not, it is a sign of attempts to restore the industry to its former preeminence.

But all of these efforts are either too recent to make a difference or are superficial in the sense that they do not solve the Island's structural problems. The greatest advertising campaign in the world will fail if the buyer does not like the product.

There is a Bermudian tendency to decide to hire a foreign "expert'' to look at the problems we face either to add credence to our own policy proposals or as a substitute for action. Part of the reason for these demands for overseas help now is the fact that most of the proposals for changes in the tourism industry by the Commission on Competitiveness and others have gone nowhere.

Unlike past reports, the current effort by the Monitor group is aimed at bringing together different parties with stakes in the industry to come up with plans of action which can be put into effect quickly.

However, some of these plans will unquestionably require money and resources and may require people to make sacrifices for the good of the whole industry.

The question that has to be asked is whether Bermuda has the will to carry these plans through to fruition.