Bermuda's cold weather winter image. This time, writes Bill Zuill, there may be cause for optimism.

The first reaction of most Bermudians to friends who say they are planning to visit Bermuda in January would be to suggest that they undergo a series of psychological tests.

The second, more reasoned reaction, would probably be to propose a visit in May or June or September or October.

"The weather in January is terrible,'' the Bermudians would say as they fitted their friends for their straitjackets, "and anyway, there is nothing to do.'' It's a strange turn of events for a resort that once considered the winter, with its temperate weather and moderate temperatures, to be its high season and the summer very much its off season.

For more than 20 years, the Tourism Ministry battled with a depressing lack of success to reverse the trend. Now the Ministry, supported by hotels, the business community and airlines, is going back to the breach - and this time it has a chance at success.

Peter Smith, assistant director of the Department of Tourism said it was difficult to change Bermuda's cold weather image between November and March.

That perception, held by Bermudians, some potential visitors and a lot of travel agents, may finally have been altered last year when the Ministry introduced the 68 degree temperature guarantee. The guarantee, supported by all industry players, gives discounts to visitors on their rooms, at restaurants and in shops if the temperature fails to reach 68 degrees on a given day. While it is difficult to say what effect it had on arrivals - which improved steadily from January through March - it brought Bermuda a great deal of attention in the travel press.

It also helped establish the Island's identity as a temperate resort in which the temperature rarely falls below 68 - an attractive temperature for someone suffering through a New York or Boston winter - where sports in particular could be played in comfort.

"The Island has to accept that we have a winter product to sell,'' says Smith. "While we need more entertainment and things going on, the Island can be very attractive to enough people to warrant a major selling campaign.

"With that in mind,we had to figure out how to tell people what the weather was like. For people who like to go to Cape Cod (in Massachusetts) or Montauk in Long Island in September, we had to find a way to tell them that Bermuda in February is like that.

"That is when we came up with the 68-degree temperature guarantee,'' he said.

"We did not expect it to work in the first year, but we did receive major publicity which can be attributed to the 68 degree campaign.

"It gave writers something new to write about. Now I have a scrapbook of stories which start: "For some, winter is the best time to visit Bermuda.'' Bermuda Hotel Association vice president John Harvey agrees: "It is still too early to tell what effect it has had on arrivals, but the temperature guarantee has created some excitement and has made potential visitors and travel agents change the perception that Bermuda's winter temperature was 40 degrees, so it has been great from that point of view.

"Hotel staff were also excited about it. In fact sometimes they were too excited, and were telling people at breakfast that they had won the discount when in fact the temperature would be well over 68 by lunch time.

"It is an expensive exercise, but when we put it all together, it is worth it.'' But if the temperature guarantee can convince people that Bermuda is a pleasant place to visit in the winter, there must be easy access to the Island and sufficient hotels open to give everyone a place to stay.

After several years of reduced airline service and closed hotels, both flights and hotel rooms will be plentiful this year, says Smith. All five major hotels will be open and all except the Sonesta Beach will beparticipating in the temperature guarantee. Eleven hotels in all are taking part in the guarantee programme - and Tourism and the Chamber of Commerce are hoping to increase the number of businesses which take part in the scheme by giving discounts to hotel guests.

Another hurdle for the Island to overcome in the minds of travel agents and visitors was the idea Bermuda is an expensive place to visit.

This year hotels, airlines and restaurants have reduced their rates and "added value'' - one of the catch phrases of the '90s - by giving a third or fifth night free or offering reduced rates for longer stays.

Says Harvey: "We are pleased that all the large hotels are staying open and we are also seeing price-driven packages which, with the 68-degree guarantee and the packages we can do with the airlines, will make a Bermuda a very viable attraction.

"In addition, the large hotels have just returned from their tour of the US incentive houses and they said this is the first time the meeting planners have not asked about industrial instability. In the past that was always their first question.'' For Tourism officials, their final job is to ensure that there is enough for visitors to do once they set foot on Bermuda soil. Once again, perception and reality vary widely. Far from there being nothing to do, there are three to four events of some kind every day between November 1 and March 30.

Each day of the week there are scheduled events ranging from a weekly golf tournament at Ocean View Golf course to walking tours of St. George's to a Gombey revue to a tour of the Aquarium.

"The point of the daily attractions is to give our visitors some idea of Bermuda's culture and a chance to meet with the Bermudian people,'' says Horton. "We found that the attendance at the events last year was better than in the previous years.'' A major part of Tourism's strategy for bringing people to the Island in the winter is to try and stage at least one special event on the Island each week.

"That is what we are working toward,'' Horton says, "We want to encourage people to come here for specific reasons and if we have absolutely beautiful weather as well that is the icing on the cake.'' It should come as no surprise that Horton, a former professional soccer player with the New York Cosmos, and locally, the man who led Somerset to victory in the 1979 Cup Match, has placed a heavy emphasis on sporting activities.

But the reasons for using sports as a winter drawing card are compelling. The weather is excellent for golf and tennis, and of the two, golf in particular is very attractive to Tourism's marketing team.

It is one of the fastest growing sports in the world in terms of participation and most people who play the sport are in the same income bracket that Bermuda needs to attract make the industry viable.

"Winter is a an excellent time for golf - it's not too hot - and the opportunities for getting tee times are good,'' says Horton. "Golfers also spend money and they often bring their spouses with them, so that helps the economy quite a lot.'' Tourism industry veterans will note that using golf tournaments to attract visitors is nothing new. Indeed, the Goodwill Golf Tournament in December is now in its 41st year and brings hundreds of male golfers and their wives to the Island from clubs all over the East Coast, Canada and Europe.

But it is no longer the only drawing card on the golfers calendar. In early March, Tourism is promoting the Easter Lily Invitational Pro-Am golf tournament while a Valentines Mixed Foursome Invitational is planned for February 13-19, presumably for couples who love golf and each other.

During the same week, another team competition, the Lobster Pot International Pro-Am will be held and if anyone can still put a ball on the tee, the Golf Festival, which enables players of different calibres to play together on five different courses, takes place the next week.

Other golf tournaments include the Seniors in January, four-ball championships for men and women and the Belmont Invitational in November.

In 1994, the golf calendar will be capped by the Merrill Lynch Shoot-Out, which features the top four PGA money winners and is televised in the US.

This will be the first major golf event featuring top pros ever held in Bermuda and it seems likely that on top of the TV exposure it will give the Island, it should attract a strong group of spectators from abroad as well.

But if Bermuda has not hosted a major golf event, it has experience in other sporting areas.

From December 12-16, Coral Beach Club will host the inaugral XL Tennis Classic, featuring tennis professionals from the ATP tour who are ranked between 50 and 100 in the world.

Among those coming are Americans Patrick McEnroe, Aaron Krickstein, Grant Connell and David Wheaton and top South American players Jaime Yzago, a clay court specialist, and Alberto Mancini. Former world number one Mats Wilander, who is now semi-retired, could also attend. The tournament - which will feature singles and doubles - will be shown later on Prime Network .

"We have provided some marketing support for the event,'' says Horton. "We have also given funds for the television production they will be doing. And we hope that the tournament will be a success and next year it could become much bigger.

"Once you have an event which you know about ahead of time it becomes another reason for people to visit the island. If they see that this is going on, it may entice them to the Island.'' That has been the experience of the organisers of the World Rugby Classic, now in its ninth year, which will attract many of the world's top former international players as well as strong contingent of spectators from all over the world when it takes place from November 7-14. Also coming on November 20 is the "Bermuda Bowl'', featuring Washington & Lee and Georgetown University's American football teams. "The beauty of this is firstly that the graduates of these two schools meet the demographics that Bermuda is looking for and secondly, that in order to attract alumni here, we are incorporating tennis, golf, a five kilometre run and a debate in the whole weekend,'' said Horton. "We will also be getting some US press as a result.'' "I am also happy that there will be an educational component, with these schools making presentations to Bermudian kids and talking about how to apply to US universities in general.'' Response from sponsors has also be strong, he added, with Trimingham's, the Bank of Bermuda, both utilities, Pepsi, Bermuda Aviation Services and Pirates' Port all signing up.

"Rotary will handle the gate and we want to get as close to Homecoming atmosphere as we can.'' As an added incentive to bring families to the game, children under the age of 12 will receive free admission to the game if they wear a team sports shirt of some kind.

Also on tap on the sporting scene this year are the Bermuda Classic Horse Show and the Bermuda All Breed Championship Dog Show in November, the ADT Bermuda Marathon and 10K road races and the Annual Regional Bridge Tournament in January, the Bermuda International Open Chess tournament and the Invitational Bowling Tournamernt set for February and in March, another All Breed Championship Dog Show, the Bermuda Round Dance Festival, the Bermuda Square Dance Convention and the Lanzera Youth Soccer Tournament.

One area which needs more bolstering is evening entertainment, says Horton.

While there are lectures, ballroom dancing and other events going on every evening as well as the Bermuda Festival in January and February, there is a need for more nightclubs and venues for music and dancing.

"It has to be driven by private enterprise,'' says Horton, who at one stage had Tourismsponsor a revue at the then-open Bermudiana Hotel.

But he says it is vital to at least give visitors a variety of options - even if they turn some of them down.

Harvey disagrees, saying that many visitors in the winter are older, and don't want Follies-type entertainment in the winter. But he concedes there is room for more combos and small music groups to play in the hotels.

The problem, he says, lies with the musicians, who refuse to lower heir pay scales for the off season.

Hotels, which do cut their rates fairly dramatically, simply cannot afford the expense.

"We have to be realistic. We have not had success in convincing the musicians that there is an off season.

So our rates go down and theirs do not. Until that changes, I do not see the development of seasonal entertainment as a thing we can promote and push.'' One venture which seems likely to succeed is dinner theatre, says Horton, which will be featured in various hotels throughout the winter.

This is also a part of Tourism's drive to promote "cultural tourism'', which after two years of debate, will be marketed to specialty groups this year.

While not a panacea for the industry's problems, it is seen as a "wonderful niche'', says Smith. "This is a long term programme and it may take 10 years for it to be a success.'' That long term view applies to the whole effort to rebuild the off season.

While there are signs already of improved arrivals and hotel occupancies, and unprecedented evidence of all parts of the industry working together, no targets have been set.

"We saw some improvement last year and we expect to see more this year,'' says Smith.

"But no-one is expecting it to turn around overnight. It is a long term programme aimed at changing perceptions about Bermuda in the winter among visitors and the travel trade.

"It is also aimed at capitalising on a trend of people moving away from the idea their vacation has to be `85 degrees and a tan'. "But there is no sense of `if we don't achieve a certain percentage growth this year, we will scrub it'. This is a long term programme.

If it doesn't work this year, we will try again next year.'' Bill Zuill is an Assistant Editor with The Royal Gazette. This is his first article for RG.

world. Winter's cooler temperatures are the perfect time to tour the Botantial Gardens. Tours of the Bilogical Station are just one of the daily events on offer.

NOVEMBER 1993 RG MAGAZINE