get things done, are seriously concerned about tourism.

It seems to us that the pattern has changed in Bermuda and those with power no longer think they have a stake in tourism. They derive their power from politics either by being on the political scene or by their influence behind the scenes. Their large incomes -- some of them breathtaking in a Country without income tax -- are derived from medicine or the law or from services to the international business sector such as accounting. They also derive their income from businesses which may not be directly connected to tourism. They then very conveniently shrug their shoulders and say, "Oh well'' when asked to face tourism's problems. They forget that there are two major pillars to Bermuda's wealth and to their wealth.

They tend not to remember that the tourism dollar winds up in their pockets.

Many Bermudian workers who are not directly employed in tourism do exactly the same thing. "It's not my problem.'' It's everyone's problem.

The "movers and shakers'' who shrug their shoulders forget that tourism employs many Bermudians who are not employable by international companies and are unlikely to be employable in companies like law firms and accounting firms. Bermuda has educated many people to a high standard and they are able to take places in white collar companies. But in Bermuda, as in any society, there is a need for properly paid and respectable blue collar jobs. Many of those jobs are supplied by the visitor sector.

It is unreasonable to expect Bermudians to make a career in tourism if they are guaranteed work only five or six months of the year. There has to be serious thinking and action to turn Bermuda back into the ten months of the year resort it once was. If we do not do that, we will have to make efforts to provide other employment for blue collar workers and we will have to import more and more non-Bermudians, at vast expense, to staff the already weak hotels.

There is another factor. The rich and powerful who are in professional fields travel a good deal and shop abroad but they have to remember that today's retail sector is suffering and must be protected because shopping is a very important part of the vacation experience.

Aside from hotel employment and retail, if tourism continues to be troubled there will be other victims such as taxi owners and drivers, cycle rental shops, and sightseeing boats, not to mention places of entertainment, restaurants and cultural attractions.

The Bermudian economy does not exist in isolation and every part needs care.

We believe that if the "movers and shakers'' got behind tourism and pushed there would be solutions. The problems cannot be left to one hard working Minister. They certainly cannot be left to the Ministry. Monitor, which is now studying tourism, has no magic wand and whatever it suggests in the end will take work, hard work.

Surely it is easier to find solutions to the problems we have rather than struggling to create new jobs. Right now we are producing a great number of jobs in the construction industry but we cannot go on building on the present scale forever because we will have neither the demand nor the space.

There was a time when problems in tourism caused national concern. Right now Bermuda has one of the most serious problems it has ever had but detect very little concern. Perhaps that is because the overall economy is in very good shape and inflation is low. But, make no mistake, if tourism does not revive soon, there will be troubled times ahead.