Bermuda's summer advertising campaign will soon be unveiled -- with the hopes of the industry riding on its back.

Although the Island is already "in the marketplace'' with the existing "Bermuda, Out of the Blue'' publicity drive, the crucial high season push is seen as vital to arresting the decline in arrivals.

It is hoped that 2000 will see numbers bottom out, laying the foundation for recovery in 2001 and beyond.

At present, newspaper and magazine advertising is promoting Bermuda's cultural assets and its suitability for golfing vacations during the winter.

But soon the campaign will move up a gear as television, radio and direct marketing kick in.

The new campaign is still a secret but it will not feature the controversial comparison commercials that poked fun at Scotland, Italy and residents of the Hamptons.

Although tourism officials were content that the radio and newspaper advertisements were a success in terms of the awareness and the number of calls, many consumers condemned them as being in bad taste.

Tourism's assistant director of marketing, Cherrie Whitter, said: "At this point it is unlikely we will use the comparison ads. However, I can't say we won't use them at all.'' But she added that commercials did their job by raising the profile of the Island, allowing the marketing arm to try to convert the prospects into bookings.

Mrs. Whitter said the summer campaign would be unveiled to the community shortly.

"If all things remain equal, we should expect to have a good year, and maybe arrest the decline,'' she said.

She added that hotels could hopefully expect to see greater occupancies as more beds become available.

Presently, Bermuda is advertising in 30 publications around the world and newspapers.

It is pushing the heritage tourism packages in conjunction with American Express and golfing vacations with the popular advance tee-time booking facility.

This year the Island will be better prepared for the season, having been in the market for a whole year -- unlike 1999, when the change of Government, and marketing companies, meant the publicity machine did not start until well into the year.

And tourism officials are hopeful that their requests for the upcoming budget will fall on sympathetic ears next month -- allowing them a slight increase on last year.

More tourism news see Page 8