radically change the way the Island is sold to visitors.

A high profile group of private sector businesses have, at the invitation of Tourism Minister David Allen, put together a draft plan which could form the basis for future marketing of Bermuda.

The 12-page report "Private Sector Strategy for Tourism'' was presented to a high-ranking panel, including Mr. Allen, last week and, it is understood, received a favourable response.

The ground-breaking draft covers all aspects of tourism, including the on-Island product, who Bermuda should be aiming at, what markets, what the customers are looking for, and where and how the Island should be sold.

Initiated by Mr. Allen, who wanted a consensus from the industry as to how they thought Bermuda should be marketed overseas, the plan will enable the private sector to dovetail their efforts with Government.

Mike Winfield, president of Cambridge Beaches, said the draft will now be taken back to the private sector representatives for some tuning, before being presented in a final version to the Minister.

"We are moving as quickly as we can,'' he said. "The Minister wanted a private sector strategy for tourism.

"This is everybody getting on board. The plan will say `here's what we are prepared to do' and `this is what we want you to do'.'' "It covers what markets we could be working towards, what is our market? What are those markets looking for and what are the gaps.'' The six-strong "conduit'' group which has put the proposal together was formed as a result of a tourism/private sector summit hosted last December by Mr. Allen.

He asked the industry to come up with a formula to help form the future direction of marketing.

And, following the meeting, the private sector utilised Government statistics to help gauge who was spending dollars on the Island, where and on what.

It is expected the group will report back to the Minister in the next two months, after a period of consultation with private sector partners, including restaurants, retailers, hotels, Chamber of Commerce and the Bermuda Experience Network.