Bermuda it seems to us that one very important thing is being overlooked. It has been stated that if Americans curtail their travelling, Bermuda's tourism could be endangered once again. That is true as far as it goes.

What we think is much more important is that Bermuda is doubly vulnerable. Top priced destinations like Bermuda are in line for rejection in a market where potential visitors are looking for less expensive holidays. Bermuda is an expensive destination which has spent some years now fighting a reputation for not providing top value for top dollar.

There have been all sorts of efforts from hotels and retailers to give the visitor better service, better value, better products, and more value for their dollar, but we do not believe that the word has yet been widely spread that value for money in Bermuda has improved.

Thankfully the economy of the United States is still strong but we do not believe that it can withstand the cuts in US exports which are resulting from the turmoil elsewhere and the growing inability of customers of the United States to import from the US.

That will in time have a major impact on the US economy no matter how many times the Federal Reserve Board attempts to hold out by such actions as lowering interest rates to pump more US money into the economy. A drop in overseas trade will be telling for the United States.

Bermuda has to remember that the real problems in tourism in Bermuda began before the last recession but that the recession in the US marked the beginning of the obvious problems in Bermuda with marked visitor decline.

US travellers continued to vacation but became more careful with their dollar, shopped around, found what they saw as better values and decided to travel elsewhere. That can happen to Bermuda again despite revitalised hotels and a push to greater tourism awareness and the lessons the Monitor Company has taught us.

There was a time when recessions in the United States seemed to work to Bermuda's benefit because people who were planning more elaborate vacations cut back and chose "overseas'' Bermuda instead. That was not true in the last recession because there is a great deal more choice of destinations and people concerned about their dollar were able to shop around much more extensively and avoided Bermuda because it had developed a reputation for being expensive.

That is all the more reason for Bermuda to work hard on its welcome and its ambiance. There is a need to convince visitors that while Bermuda may be expensive it provides a quality holiday and gives value for money. That will take a good deal of doing because bad reputations are hard to live down.