of providing enjoyment for visitors. People on holiday are often looking for fun on top of a good room, a beach and some sightseeing.

A few years ago there appeared to be agreement that Bermuda should "lighten up'' and visitors should be encouraged to live a little. None of that had much to do with the "Let Yourself Go'' campaign which went against the entire grain of what Bermuda is.

As a result of a good deal of talk, there were a few minor efforts to get Bermuda to relax and it was quite amazing how long those took and how complicated they became. "Al fresco service'' took consultations between just about every civil servant in Bermuda, the Liquor Licensing Authority and the Corporation of Hamilton and resulted in a few tiny areas with fresh air service. Those hardly make Hamilton sing to the visitors.

Harbour Nights in both Hamilton and St. George's work fairly well and give visitors, especially cruise visitors, a shore excursion, although it is a less compelling attraction than it was two or three years ago.

Then too there has been a relaxation of the liquor licensing laws both onshore and off.

And there has been a real push to promote diving which is a smart move especially now that the fish pot ban has proved such a great success and anyone can see the fish are returning.

But we have to wonder if Bermuda is providing enough for visitors to do and whether there needs to be greater variety. Of course, increasing activities is difficult with declining numbers of visitors. But then maybe the numbers are declining because Bermuda does not give today's visitors what they want.

There is a real argument to be made in favour of relaxing Bermuda. We are not suggesting that Bermuda should give up its quality image because we think the future must lie in quality and not quantity. However Bermuda is quite stiff and straight-laced and needs a good renovation just as some of the visitor properties have needed upgrading.

Other resorts are going to great lengths to attract people with some success.

Some have casinos which we do not think would be acceptable in Bermuda. Many other resorts are also "moving with the times'' in ways Bermudians would find unacceptable. Designated nude beaches are becoming the norm in other places, especially in the islands to our south. But we find it difficult to believe that Bermudians who do not like topless men on the streets would welcome nude beaches, even dedicated nude beaches.

At the very extreme end, Jamaica is having talks about suggestions that commercial sex should be regarded as legitimate employment, introducing regulated sex shops and prostitution, and tourism packages involving sex. The suggestion is that sex should be a natural part of the tourist trade.

And Bermuda has difficulty deciding to allow people to have a drink outside a restaurant!