THE June 2006 edition of includes a special advertising section on Bermuda. It begins with Tourism Minister Dr. Ewart Brown citing that overworked, outdated remark of Mark Twain: "You go to Heaven if you want to, I'll stay in Bermuda."

Never mind that poor Twain would scarcely recognise the overdeveloped, overpopulated island that his answer to heaven on earth has become in the intervening century!

The section includes many boring photographs of the Tucker's Point Club development ? a place most visitors will never see, just as they will never experience Mark Twain's unspoilt Bermuda.

Whilst the text lists places to visit and activities available in Bermuda, there are no photographs of, for instance, St. George's, Dockyard or St. Catherine Fort ? all those wonderful 18th- and 19th-century buildings we inherited from our "Colonial Masters" which visitors interested in cultural tourism would be attracted to.

There were no photographs of Bermudians ? the world's most natural hosts whose innate talents helped to make Bermuda the gold-standard of resort destinations for so many years. And perhaps most importantly, there are no photos of deep-sea fishing, sailing, para-sailing, windsurfing, jet skiing, horseback riding on the beach, calypso groups or of underwater Bermuda. In other words, nothing that provides interest or excitement for the potential visitor.

I have scuba dived all over the world ? in Jamaica, in Florida and on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and Bermuda can hold its own internationally as a top dive spot. A dear friend of mine, the late Lawrence Gould, had dived just about everywhere. His opinion was that Bermuda and the Red Sea were two of the best areas for sport diving in the world.

Yet the Powers That Be at the Tourism Ministry ? or, maybe more accurately, their newest advertising consultants ? have seen fit not to promote this potential tourism cash cow that generates hundreds of millions of dollars for other destinations boasting far less eye-catching underwater attractions.

Frankly, this obviously expensive advertising section was a yawn; if this is the best Tourism can come up with I don't have high hopes about any spike in visitor arrival figures in 2006. And another factor that may well work against Bermuda tourism in the coming months is the fact researchers from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration forecast a "very active" hurricane season with between 13 and 16 named Atlantic tropical storms.

About the only good news is this year's hurricanes should not be as devastating or destructive as those spawned during 2005 storm season ? the worst in recorded history.

However, since Bermuda is often confused with the Caribbean (and the Progressive Labour Party Government does little to make people aware of the distinction) by vacationers who get hurricane jitters, Bermuda should prepare a plan now:

1. Offer free travel insurance to cover expenses in case a hurricane interrupts or cancels travellers' vacations.

2. There are many amenities, discounts and deals to be dangled that would entice potential visitors who are worried about visiting an island that might be hit by one ? or more ? hurricanes this year.

3. Should other destinations be hit ? e.g. Florida, Mexico, the Caribbean ? and, hopefully, Bermuda escapes a direct hurricane hit, have contingency marketing plans in place to attract visitors who had intended to visit those places.

Last November ran a report headlined "With Cancun still recovering from hurricane, Caribbean gets crowded and pricier". The story pointed out that the tens of thousands of Americans who had booked holidays in Cancun had taken their vacations elsewhere ? Aruba, St. Lucia and Puerto Rico all boasted sizeable increases in tourism arrivals.

So did US destinations including Coral Gables, Florida, Hawaii and even Tucson, Arizona. Bermuda did not even make the list. The difference between these competing resorts and Bermuda is that they launch campaigns to let the market know they were still in business.

I hope this year our globe-trotting Minister will take time out from his visits to exotic places and, with the help of experienced advisers, develop plans that will better position Bermuda to take advantage of the multi-billion-dollar growth industry that is international tourism.