Bermuda must reach out for new markets if it is to retain a competitive edge in what is becoming an overcrowded industry.

This is the advice of Mr. Bodo Von Alvensleben, hotelier extraordinaire who for 23 years reigned supreme during what many now look back on as "the golden age'' of Bermudian tourism.

Returning last week to the Island after 15 years, partly for a vacation and partly on business, he says the Island still retains much of its charm.

"Apart from the heavy increase in traffic and the installation of traffic lights, Bermuda looks attractive and well-kept.'' He cautions, however, against complacency.

"I think it's a mistake to stick with old markets -- Bermuda has to stretch out to find new ones in untapped and, perhaps, unexpected places. There are many people around the world who have the means and the time to travel. We have many Japanese visitors in Switzerland, for example, and they are very friendly -- and they pay in cash! I think Bermuda, as a destination, has huge potential on the west coast of the States, in Argentina, Scandinavia, Turkey, and you shouldn't overlook the ex-communist countries like Russia, Hungary, and Poland. There is money in these places and people are certainly looking for new destinations.'' He believes it is imperative for Bermuda to firmly establish itself as a year-round destination. There are, he says, several ways to achieve this.

"I've always thought it quite amazing that a 22-mile long island has eight superb golf courses. Bermuda should be exploiting this far more. Europeans are golf-crazy -- Switzerland is completely obsessed -- and they don't care about the weather, so they would be quite happy to come here in the winter!'' Exuding his customary enthusiasm, Mr. Von Alvensleben says that far more emphasis should also be made of Bermuda's rich historical heritage.

"History is undoubtedly extremely important to today's traveller -- they gobble it up like hot cakes! I think there should be more emphasis on Bermuda's role in tennis history, for instance, and things like the Military Tattoos and the Peppercorn ceremony. People love it! And I'm very impressed with what has been done with Dockyard. I couldn't believe it -- it's absolutely fabulous.'' Looking to the future, Mr. Von Alvensleben voices concern that comparatively little seems to have been spent on upgrading or hotel maintenance in recent years.

"I would suggest that some serious thought be given to the idea of spas for Bermuda -- because it's really the perfect place, and would certainly extend the season to 12 full months. Lots of Europe's major hotels would have gone broke long ago if they hadn't tapped into this lucrative market. Now, people are literally queuing up to go to places like La Prairie, Evian, and Quiberon.

Any hotel here could do this, and succeed, so long as the necessary investment was made.'' People who are stressed out, he points out, will visit spas at any time of the year to pursue general fitness routines in pleasant surroundings. Bermuda would also be an ideal place for plastic surgery.

"Men and women prefer to go somewhere that's not too visible, so an island would be great! They would stay one or two weeks and the whole procedure could be done in the hotel, and have a nice, luxurious place in which to quietly recuperate.'' Mr. Von Alvensleben has stayed at several hotels and visited most others, large and small, during his visit here. Asked how they compare with their counterparts overseas, he is blunt in his reply. "I think a lot of them need refurbishing. In all honesty, I have to say that only two, Horizons and Waterloo House, who are members of the famous Relais & Chateaux, are comparable. Of course, a small property has a better chance of giving good service. I have been well looked after at Stonington, for instance. It's very comfortable and the beach is wonderful. But there is no room service! This is very bad -- these days, all large hotels, anywhere in the world, provide 24-hour room service and a concierge. But I think I'm right in saying that no large hotels here offer these services which are taken for granted elsewhere.'' He warns, too, that Bermuda must guard against becoming too expensive.

Ultimately, however, he believes that superior and friendly service is the secret of success.

"Every man who comes here must be treated as a king, and every woman, a queen! I think it's imperative that management maintains a visible presence, to greet and say goodbye to guests -- this concept seems to be slipping in Bermuda. No manager should be stuck in an office. If he has to have a desk, it should be put in the lobby! The hotel,'' he adds with a smile, "should be the mistress of the hotel manager.'' Mr. Von Alvensleben was disappointed to see that the Hotel Association no longer appears to be the close-knit organisation it once was. "Because we presented a united front we were able to work for the benefit of the industry as a whole. I remember one occasion when the airlines wanted to raise fares and we said `No!' and they listened to us. Kit Astwood and I introduced the idea of all the hotels comparing figures each month. We had no secrets from each other and it helped keep the industry on an even keel.'' Reminiscing about the promotional tours that were undertaken in North America by the old Bermuda News Bureau, he recalls that "Lyndon Clay was our general and Kit Astwood was the supreme commander who kept us all in line with military precision! They were very strict about our `uniforms' of grey Bermuda shorts, blue blazers with the Coat of Arms and they'd line us all up for inspection and they made us rehearse our entire programme for weeks on end beforehand.'' Mr. Von Alvensleben, who trained at the Lucerne Hotel School, went on to work at Brown's Hotel in London during the '50s and then on to Canada's Banff Springs before moving here.

"I made very little money then, so I used to work as a film extra in my spare time. That's how I met Marilyn Monroe, and then Shelly Winters. For three days in a row I took Marilyn out for picnics. She was an all-American, very pleasant, sweet girl.'' In 1953, he was asked to come to Bermuda, to work for "a while'' -- and ended up staying for 23 years. "I was supposed to work at Coral Beach but the manager at Waterloo House was sick so I was sent there instead. Then I went to the Reefs, helped to open up Coral Beach and then to Elbow Beach for a spell.

I worked at the Pembroke Princess for two years before we finally opened the doors on April 1, 1964.'' It was during a dinner with D.J. Williams that the Education Secretary suggested opening an hotel school for Bermudians.

"We had some meetings with Lyndon Clay and that was the beginning! We had very strict standards in those days. Out of 23 students who began that first course, only seven stuck it out to graduation.'' After Bermuda, Mr. Von Alvensleben went to the Waldorf Towers, a traditional haunt of American Presidents, movie stars and foreign heads of state.

"I kept President Kennedy's rocking chair in one of the presidential suites.

Cole Porter lived there and when he died, I brought his piano down to the public rooms where it's still being played today.'' Dealing with a never-ending stream of VIP's that included the Queen, Kruschev, Haile Selassie and General McArthur, he recalls the day he was given a special award from the Shah of Persia for rescuing one of his children who had climbed out of a window 35 floors up.

"I also remember ex-President Nixon, standing by the big bed in the Presidential Suite, and marvelling to me about all the famous people who had slept in that very bed.'' Although officially retired, the energetic "Bodo'' as he is universally known, is still in demand as a consultant in hotel sales and marketing. On this trip, he is compiling a special Bermuda section for one of Europe's leading travel magazines, "Coups d'Oeil'', which he expects will be published in the February 1996 edition.

"My wife, Marie-Claire, is the editor and I seem to end up doing a lot of the photography,'' he laughs -- although it soon emerges that he has spent most of this vacation in lengthy sessions, planning all aspects of the projected feature with the Department of Tourism, airlines, hoteliers, merchants and bankers.

"I've had a wonderful time, working with all the people, in fact, who are involved in tourism!''