Business Association sponsored an essay competition for all Island school students.

Pupils were asked to submit a letter addressed to Tourism Minister David Allen putting forward suggestions on how the tourism industry could be improved.

Representatives from BIBA, the Department of Tourism and the hospitality industry served as judges for the competition, reading through some 280 entries before selecting winners in three age categories. The winning entries are printed below.

Place Winner - 15 to 18 Years Denise Place, 16, CedarBridge Academy.

Dear Minister Allen, I am a Cedarbridge Academy student on the verge of graduating. I am writing to you to explain how I think Tourism in Bermuda can in some way be improved. The reason that I am writing this letter is I have heard a lot of people complaining about the way that Tourism is declining.

One of the main reasons that I think tourism in our country is on the decline is because there are not enough attractions. The hotel staffers can often be condescending, accommodations in hotels are too expensive and there is not enough to do. One way to rid us of detractors is to lower the cost of everyday necessities. There can also be training and positive incentive programs for hotel staffers. That might positively impact tourist relations.

Another problem with Tourism is the cost of airline tickets for getting to and from Bermuda. Theses higher ticket prices cause fewer tourists to want to come to visit Bermuda, then the prices for renting a room at one of the more elegant hotels is over the roof.

A few ways I think that we might encourage more tourists to come to the island is to sell more hotel accommodations and airline packages at more reasonable prices. Then when they arrive they would have to pay more for tourist attractions. We need more tourist attractions, instead of having repeat visitors going to the same places time and time again.

Most importantly, I feel that there should be some type of Water Park in Bermuda. We are a beautiful island, surrounded by water and beaches, which can sometimes become overcrowded during the summer. One other problem that plagues us is the crime rate. There needs to be some way in which the crime rate can be lowered and any person who is caught committing a crime against a tourist should be given a maximum sentence because this is our livelihood. I say this because since the Rebecca Middleton case in 1996, many tourists have had doubts about visiting the island.

I would like to state that as a young Bermudian, I appreciate the fact that we get to voice our opinions on the quality and lack of entertainment for our visitors and repeat visitors. My suggestion for updating a tourist attraction is to develop Darrell's Island as a Government owned and run casino and hotel resort for the exclusive use of tourists. Admission would be an overseas passport. Please note that I have used the expression Government owned and run casino. By introducing a Casino, a two hundred million dollar investment could be recouped in less than five years, and operate every year thereafter at a substantial surplus which would go into the government's pocket.

Let me expand on my water park idea. Included in this there could be fresh and salt-water slides, outdoor swimming pools for adults and children and many other fun activities. Ideal places for this would be Club Med or Astwood Park.

In addition to these changes for the business located in St. George's and Clocktower Dockyard can establish duty free shopping to increase business.

With regards to attracting tourists, the marketing strategies to target big spenders can be established by entering partnerships with British Airways and/or Air France to fly a weekly Concorde flight as is presently done between London and Barbados.

An ideal way to upgrade all major hotels is to give financial incentives to help modernize hotel facilities from the 1960's to the 21st century.

In closing, I would like this opportunity to thank you for giving me as a Cedarbridge Academy student the chance to voice my opinion about the future of Bermuda Tourism. I look forward to receiving your responding comments.

*** 1st Place Winner - 10 to 14 Years Attiya Talbot, 13, Whitney Institute Dear Sir, Once I was informed of your request for input on ways to improve Bermuda's tourism industry, I was deeply intrigued. As a youngster, even I can see that there are not nearly as many tourists today as in previous years. The only way we can improve this is by making their stay worthwhile. We need to improve ticket prices, places of entertainment, and manners.

Most tourists say that they love Bermuda and will be returning to our island.

But I hear time and time again complaints of cost. We can do nothing about on-island costs, but we can lower prices of plane tickets. Tourists hate to spend unnecessary money. Keeping this in mind, we can offer tourists lower prices during the tourism off-season in order to boost numbers. Packaged deals for gateway cities during the summer also can be offered. This would provide tourists with more money to spend on the island. It would certainly encourage tourists to visit because they will be getting more for their money.

Another complaint is the lack of places for people with young children to go.

Many people would suggest a theme park with a roller coaster, etc., but that would be just like the United States. I propose a slightly different idea. One wherein the government will designate a plot of land for both tourist and locals to have access to. The park will have a Bermudian theme base on culture and history. Adults can take their children along and socialize with one another. For the children, a pool with a glass bottom allowing them to see an underwater wonderland, in the shape of a turtle or a longtail can be built. Of course there will be gift shops and a restaurant. Children as well as parents, including childless couples will enjoy this. It is a win-win situation.

Although this may prove to be an expensive project, I feel it would be worth the effort.

Lastly, Bermuda's taxi and bus drivers as well as front desk and hotel personnel need to be a little more polite. Many tourists' opinions of Bermudians as nice, polite, considerate people are soon soured once they encounter a few of these said people. Maybe we need to establish an etiquette class for those who choose these professions. They have selected occupations in which they are giving tourists their impression of Bermudians as a whole, and this impression should be a positive one. Whether they realize it or not, they are actually representing the people of Bermuda. Tourists need someone polite, courteous and mannerly to drive them around the island and greet them at their hotels, so these training classes will certainly benefit Bermuda more than many of us will ever know. The taxi and bus drivers as well as front desk and hotel personnel need to be evaluated and if they are not suitable, we need to replace them with people who are more people friendly so that Bermuda can regain its age old reputation of having wonderful inhabitants. Tourists will undoubtedly notice the change in attitude if we can successfully do this.

In conclusion, I would like to say that Bermuda's tourism industry is not perfect and probably never will be. But we need to strive to make it as perfect as we possibly can. There are plenty of things to improve and it is so easy to sit back and criticize, but Bermuda is doing something right. If not, Tourists would not continue to flock to our enchanting island. There is always room for improvement, whether it is in ticket prices, places for entertainment, or manners. I have put forward my suggestions and I genuinely hope that you will seriously consider them. Thank you for your time, attention, and patience.

Sincerely yours.

*** 1st Place Winner - 7 to 9 Years Tralita Anderson, 9, Heron Bay School Dear Minister of Tourism, Bermuda is our home and we need to get it into shape! It is a tourist resort so we need to get out those ideas to improve Tourism The people on our island need to make it more comfortable for tourists who come here. We need to make tourists feel safe and at home.

When tourists get on the bus, and there are no seats, we must teach our children to give up their seats to the visitors. We must teach our children good manners so those tourists think we are friendly and nice here.

All parents need to get their children in shape and they need to set a good example by being friendly and polite too. If I were in government I would give awards to those people, young or old, caught doing nice things for tourists.

I would like to reduce crime in Bermuda too. I would make stronger punishments for people who break the law. When I get in trouble at home my parents get tough, and that's what the courts need to do - get tougher! Also, I would try to get an airline for tourists only so that no one gets bumped from a flight. Hopefully, I could get a lower fare so that people overseas would want to take the flight to Bermuda. When people see high fares they think Oh no! I'm not paying that much! I would also lower the prices of hotels so people would want to come and could afford to stay here. Bermuda's prices are too high and that is why a lot of people aren't coming here. We need to do something about it now! Next, I would organize some activities for little ones that visit Bermuda with their parents. I would put an enormous Amusement Park at White Hill Field.

There would be roller coasters, food stands, kid shows, and love tunnels, a gigantic swimming pool, and monster tunnels. I would provide more family entertainment like magic shows and I would put in a kid's theatre too.

I would see to it that more buses and ferries ran in the evening so tourists could get to and from events more easily. We need to provide better service for our visitors and the service should be even friendlier.

I would try to encourage all people in Bermuda to work harder to get tourists back on the island. I would ask all Bermudians to be polite to our visitors even if they don't know them. Being friendly and grateful is the way to go.

Thank you for considering my ideas.

Budding scribes: Tourism minister David Allen and City of Hamilton mayor William Frith (rear) with the essay competition winners following the presentation of prizes yesterday.