NEW GLOUCESTER, Maine -- It seems that no matter when I visit Bermuda, and I have been doing so for 34 years, I can count on reading one or more stories in The Royal Gazette or Mid-Ocean News which contain considerable public hand-wringing about (1) a real drop in tourist arrivals or (2) a predicted drop in tourist arrivals and (1) an analysis as to why it is happening or (2) an analysis as to why it will happen.

As one of those you have been successful in attracting to the Island, I have been giving some thought as to whether my own experience is relevant to your concerns. I suppose the best way to find that out is to share them with those that read this and care about this issue and let you good people make that decision.

I live in the New England area, which should be one of your most easily mined sources of "arrivals'' due to the ease with which we can "get there from here''. The simplicity of getting to Bermuda has always been an attraction to me. We always arrive for lunch and enjoy the rest of the day, as opposed to a day-long trek through airports and airplanes of sometimes diminishing sizes in order to get to a Caribbean island with a similar unpleasant experience on the return.

Therefore, ease of access is a great selling point to those planning to arrive by air, and while I also see consternation in the Press about the need for more flights, I don't believe the airlines are the problem. If greater numbers of people want to travel to Bermuda, I am certain that the airlines would adjust accordingly. It is one of the best supply and demand businesses you can find.

I have not had the cruise ship experience to Bermuda, but I have talked to friends who have done it and they seemed universally happy with this method of travelling to your island. I tend to agree with those that decry the need for a weekend cruise ship. What you add by way of another 1,000 or so people on a weekend, takes away from one of the islands main attractions: its general ambience.

There seems to be a heavy emphasis in your public dialogue about how to improve tourism about the role of "government''. I have often wondered if some of your problems, real or perceived, are because you expect "government'' to come up with the answer.

"Governments'', in my experience, like to take credit for any successes which occur while they are in charge and to explain away and find other reasons for failures which occur during the same time period.

Duncan McDowall's article in the May 1997 issue of The Bermudian provides a good survey on the issue of tourism and some thoughtful observations.

I am not sure how to explain how my feelings about the Island developed, except to say that it grows on you.

I have always rented mopeds (in the early days) and motor scooters during the last 15 years or so and ALWAYS encouraged others to do so, as I can think of no better way to explore the island or participate in its life. Perhaps it is exploration and participation that has been the key to my/our interest in returning again and again. I have played all of your golf courses, participated in a couple of Goodwill Tournaments, caddied for Kim Swan in the Bermuda Open, had a hole in one at Port Royal, played tennis with Billy Boyle, sailed with Captain Williams, rented Boston Whalers to explore your waters on my own, snorkelled at 5 Mile Reef, seen and enjoyed the development of Dockyard and the Maritime Museum (The Commissioners's House will hopefully be finished in my lifetime), explored the Bermuda Railway Trail, enjoyed Spittal Pond, attended the pony trotting races at The Equestrian Centre as well as Samsung Show Jumping , seen several Omega Gold Cup events, enjoyed the Wednesday Garden Tours, been a member at Coral Beach Club for 20 years, found wonderful surprises in the wild areas of Ferry Reach, enjoyed the Longtails at Gay Head, put thousands of kilometres on my scooter without incident, met hundreds of friendly Bermudians and made friends with many, dined in your restaurants, become a judge of Bermuda Fish Chowder, fish cakes and who makes the best Rum Punch on "de island'', acquired some of your art and enjoyed it in all of the various venues it is found in, just to name a few of the things I have done to enjoy the island.

My glasses are not rose-coloured, however, and I see and sense things that are evolving that give me pause when I consider Bermuda as a tourist destination for the future. You have done a superb job with your Air Terminal Arrival and Departure area, yet airfares to Bermuda are, in my judgment, unreasonably high. Even if you take out the "departure tax'' which used to be collected when one left and is now folded into the price of the ticket, the price is too high. I can fly to California or Europe for less. Yet I choose not to. Others, on more of a budget, may look elsewhere.

A lot of your young people ride their motorbikes, etc. with an "attitude''.

The attitude includes very high speed as well as a feeling of invincibility as they weave through traffic. I see signs that detection devices are used to measure speed, but the next time I see one of your young daredevils stopped by the police it will be the first time. It can't be that hard to have an efficient crackdown on these dangerous drivers.

Bermuda is an expensive place to visit. Everything is expensive. Why I can buy a bottle of Gosling's Black Seal in the US for less than I can in Bermuda is one of life's little mysteries.

I appreciate you are an island and that things are more costly because of that. But you are limiting yourself, to a segment of the population who can afford to come there, either by budgeting for it or being well heeled enough not to let it dissuade them.

I see Lantana closed, The Belmont closed, The Holiday Inn/Club Med perpetually closed, Marriott Castle Harbour closing, The Bermudiana torn down, Glencoe converted to private housing, The Ritz-Carlton project abandoned and the lot a tangle of trees and shrubs and I wonder.

Yet giant construction cranes dot the Hamilton skyline and new buildings replace old and life goes on. More congested, more dangerous with the under-current of drugs and crime, more litter, more of an "edge'' to public discourse and attitude...

Erosion is often slow and easy to ignore. The Grand Canyon was at one time just a river.

"Bermuda is another world'' says the song. That world that the song refers to is what must not be lost. If the same energy that went into keeping a McDonald's franchise off the Island can be expended in truly addressing the erosion of Bermudian civility and the developing congestion and the attendant problems that it causes, those responsible will have done a service to the country they love and the Island that lives in the song and in the memories of those of us who are on the "back nine'' of life.

This is a letter I have been writing off and on for a couple of years, and having just returned from my 37th trip to the Island, I thought I would try and finish it. At least I have now unburdened myself to someone who hopefully cares about what I have to say...

John R. Linnell is an American lawyer and frequent visitor to Bermuda. He lives in New Gloucester, Maine.