Hope always springs for tourism around this time of year. Too often, those same hopes are dashed by the end of the year, and the excuses have begun. There’s some reason to think that this year might be different but there are danger signs as well.The good news is that for the first time since 2008, arrivals rose in the first quarter of the year. To be sure, the January to March period is always the weakest for Bermuda, so any increase will look better in percentage terms than is the case later in the year. Still, an increase in air visitors of just under 2,000 visitors or seven percent is welcome.Much of the increase came from Canada, which Tourism Minister Patrice Minors correctly attributed to the introduction of WestJet as competition for Air Canada from Toronto. Canada’s economy also weathered the global economic crisis better than the US, so that may be playing a part as well. And the Canadian dollar is virtually on par with the US dollar, which makes Bermuda less expensive for Canadians.Despite the increase in arrivals, average length of stay fell, which means that although more people came, they probably spent less per person than in the past. That’s worrying, because it is spending, rather than raw arrivals numbers, that really matters for Bermuda’s economic wellbeing. Looking ahead, advance bookings for the next five or six months are ahead of last year, which is encouraging. In part, that will be due to the recovery in the US economy. But it should be noted that the recovery is still very fragile, and susceptible to shocks.The Island should also be attractive to UK and European visitors because of the continued weakness of the US dollar to the pound and the euro. Still, Bermuda cannot wait on the vagaries of the US and global economy to determine its future. It has to set its own direction in tourism. Some pieces are already in place. AirTran’s new flights from Baltimore and Atlanta should make travel from those key gateway cities more competitive and open up the southern US states.The recession also is something of a blessing in the sense that many more Bermudians are looking at careers in tourism for the first time in decades. Having Bermudians in the hotels and the tourism industry is crucial to its success, because Bermudians must feel they have a stake in the industry. The problem, however, is that Bermudians are no longer trained for tourism and a whole generation of managers and experienced workers are missing. So it is critical that those Bermudians who are now turning to tourism receive good training and are grounded in the idea that the customer always comes first.That’s because all the flights, new hotel rooms and fancy marketing campaigns will mean nothing if Bermuda does not get its service right. Every Bermuda resident has to make every visitor feel like they are welcome guests in our home from the minute they arrive until the minute they leave. If not, they will go somewhere else.This newspaper is also concerned that Bermuda is still not being marketed correctly. It is worrying that there will be no new advertising to speak of this year as the Department of Tourism seeks a new agency. While Bermuda’s competitors blanket the airwaves, print media and Internet with advertising, Bermuda must have a presence, and this money, provided it is spent carefully and intelligently, is an investment, not an added cost.Finally, Bermuda must continue to control its costs. This is not something that can be solved in the next six months. But Bermuda must find ways to become less expensive and more competitive. This must include payroll, but tourism generally could do with more tax relief.