take a fresh look at the once-popular event.

Tourism director Mr. Gary Philips conceded that the number of students attracted did not appear to be worth the investment.

In order to bring College Weeks back to life, he said the Ministry needed the full support of hotels and the business community, which it was not getting.

However, the Bermuda Hotel Association and the Chamber of Commerce have blamed the Tourism Ministry for not advertising the programme enough.

They said members were waiting for the Ministry to take the initiative with an all-out marketing campaign before they took any major steps to promote College Weeks themselves.

Mr. Philips pointed out that the $200,000 spent on promoting the event this year only yielded bookings from a scant 2,000 students.

The number of bookings -- about the same as last year -- was a far cry from the 1970s and early 1980s when numbers were as high as 10,000 to even 14,000.

Mr. Philips assured that the Ministry wanted to rejuvenate the March 8-April 8 spring break. He admitted there were ways the Ministry could make the programme more exciting, but its biggest hurdle was a lack of cooperation from hotels.

"We are not enjoying the same level of support from hotels that we have in previous years,'' he said.

"Maybe some things need fine-tuning -- and we are looking at it. But I think we all need to take a retrospective look at what we are doing. We need to review the whole programme.'' A meeting is planned next month with hoteliers, Mr. Philips said, confessing the get-together was overdue.

Mr. Philips believed enough College Weeks advertising had been done in America, but the Ministry's efforts were being hampered by not having a product to sell. "An important aspect to consider is to what extent the community is prepared to welcome College Weeks,'' he said.

"What is there in terms of entertainment and special admission prices? Do the cycle liveries offer special rates? And are the hotels and guest houses making an effort to accommodate them?'' Both the BHA and the COC said they supported the programme, regarding it as a valuable way to boost tourism.

However, they felt the Tourism Ministry was not doing enough to promote it.

And until there was better promotion, they were not willing to make more effort to come up with incentives.

"Historically the programme has proved valuable because of its potential for repeat visitors,'' BHA executive director Mr. John Harvey acknowledged.

However, he said, "It is up to Tourism to show the initiative.'' He said the BHA had not been invited to sit down with Tourism officials to discuss College Weeks for some time, but would "welcome'' such a meeting because the programme had been "on a steady decline''.

COC president Mr. Louis Mowbray said comments by college students to The Royal Gazette last week indicated they also felt the programme was not being advertised enough.

"It sounds as if there is not enough grass roots promotion at the universities,'' he said. "But if the hotels are discouraging it, that could be a problem too.

"Our view is that the programme is a good investment in the future because many who come during College Weeks are inclined to come back in the future.'' Several students had said that while they saw advertisements for spring break destinations in Cancun and Florida they did not see any for Bermuda.

Though they were not disappointed they came to Bermuda -- many wanted to get away from the crowds and blazing sunshine -- they felt more of their friends would have come if the programme had been better advertised.

But Mr. Philips said there were plenty of Bermuda brochures on college campuses, although they did not quote the prices of any package tour deals, which was the hotels' job.