Members of the Hamilton Rotary Club yesterday received an unexpected lesson in wildlife psychology.

Guest speaker E. Michael Jones, Chairman of the Visitor Industry Partnership campaign, looked across the luncheon crowd assembled at Romanoff's and closed-out his update on reviving Bermuda's tourism industry with a challenge.

"Does anyone know why geese fly in a V-formation?'' A quiet wave of laughter washed over the room.

"The answer is wind resistance. As each bird flaps its wings it creates uplift for the bird behind it,'' he said.

And as it relates to Bermuda's struggling tourism industry the analogy was fitting: "We need the sense of a goose,'' offered Mr. Jones. "We have to stay in formation and work together to get our Island back on track.'' Outlining recent efforts of the VIP campaign Mr. Jones told Rotarians that a permanent National Council for tourism awareness has been set up and progress was being made on 12 areas of action, including the key areas of education and youth enterprise.

And education, said Mr. Jones, was the critical element if the VIP scheme was to succeed.

The campaign, which seeks to recapture the glory days of Bermuda tourism, was launched in early 1996 with Government and industry participation. It is based on the premise that the cornerstone of Bermuda's economy rests on a strong, successful tourism sector.

That foundation has been eroded of late, said Mr. Jones, because tourism is now a global game with the Carribean in particular proving to be the greatest challenge to the Island's industry.

Mr. Jones briefly outlined areas where substantial progress had been made.

These included the development of an educational curriculum for use in primary and secondary schools; the development of industry standards focusing on quality; the formation of Tourism Awareness Service Corps; a SMILE campaign to create increased increase self-confidence and community spirit; and an Airport Arrival service, which kicks off today at the International Airport.

"We all have to go the extra mile to get our tourism industry back on track,'' stressed Mr. Jones, and by following the example of wild geese all Bermudians become stakeholders in the process.