must be involved in the Island's new advertising campaign seems to be an unprecedented development in the marketing of the Island.

While Mr. Allen remains vague on how much input the local partner should have, he has made it clear that a partnership between a local agency and the overseas agency is essential for a winning bid.

This will be good for the local agencies, although whether they have the resources to make more than a token contribution remains to be seen.

However, they should be able to give some input into the winning bidder's "feel'' for Bermuda and what advertisements are truly representative of the Island. That should enable the overseas agency to avoid the "Let Yourself Go'' campaign's fatal flaw, where a well intentioned idea failed because it tried to sell an inaccurate image of the Island.

Mr. Allen is also asking the bidding agencies to propose campaigns which reflect the "new Bermuda''. This is a much harder order to fill than signing up a local agency.

It is true that there is a new mood in Bermuda and this can be harnessed to benefit the Island. It could well translate into better service and greater friendliness to visitors and could also see people connected in any way with the tourism industry being prepared to go the extra mile.

But as British Prime Minister Tony Blair is learning (See the analysis story in this page) , political honeymoons do not always last forever, and there is no guarantee that the current "euphoria'' will either.

Selling Bermuda on the basis of its beauty and quaintness along with the friendliness and unique qualities of its people is a good approach to marketing the Island.

However, defining "Bermuda's and Bermudians' island soul'' in the campaign will be difficult when part of the attraction of Bermuda is its very diversity, with its mix of European, North American and Caribbean influences.

The agency which accomplishes that will have done very well indeed.

But in the end, Bermuda's tourism industry will begin to recover when our visitors feel that they are getting a good product, in the broadest sense of the word, at a fair price. Our friendliness and new mood will not count for much if that problem cannot be fixed.

It is important that Bermudians have confidence in the advertising that is representing them, but it is more important that it be accurate, fair and compelling to the market which it is targeting -- the potential visitor.