Some have been saying it for years _ if there's a way to minimise tourism's spiralling decline, it's through sport.

And with the Island facing potentially its bleakest winter in recent memory, now could be the perfect time for those who run the industry to take a closer look at how that might be achieved.

In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, sport was initially a victim of the tragedy with many of the major events either postponed or cancelled.

More recently it has become an avenue through which those who suffered have found some degree of relief. Indeed, much of the cash raised already to help victims of the terrorism has been realised through special sporting events.

Yet with the bombing of Afghanistan, an air of fear and uncertainty continues to prevail.

Professional athletes who once hopped on planes more frequently than they drove the family car, are suddenly limiting travel to a bare minimum.

As a direct result of security fears, the Ryder Cup in England was put back a year, major tennis and golf tournaments in Europe and the Far East have seen their fields depleted, and trans-Atlantic crossings on sports-related business has been reduced to a trickle. However, Bermuda largely seems to have found itself immune from such paranoia.

The Bermuda Open golf championships at Port Royal recently brought in some 50 overseas professionals, a record figure for this particular tournament; sailing's Colorcraft Gold Cup last week suffered a couple of late no-shows but still attracted many of the world's top skippers; in a couple of weeks' time the World Rugby Classic will go ahead seemingly unaffected by the withdrawals that have decimated similar sports festivals elsewhere; and in December the annual Goodwill golf tournament will proceed with an impressive overseas entry, 80 teams having already registered by last week.

That all seems to suggest that Bermuda is still perceived as a relatively safe destination.

North Americans, wary of travelling to Europe under the current climate, don't seem to have a problem with the much shorter hop to these shores, and those travelling from elsewhere might be of the belief that Bermuda remains the most unlikely of terrorism targets.

With that in mind, shouldn't other sports be looking to follow in the footsteps of rugby's Classic or golf's Goodwill?

Couldn't attempts be made to revive the annual hockey festival which once proved so successful, or the single-wicket cricket tournament which brought in stars from all around the world?

A soccer festival on the same lines as the Rugby Classic, involving veteran players, has often been suggested yet as far as we know there are still no concrete plans.

If the National Sports Centre is ready to host next month's Classic, with new floodlights expected to be up and running, then is there any reason why it couldn't accommodate other sports?

If Tourism and the various sports governing bodies were to show a little enterprise, a bleak winter might become a whole lot brighter.