revolutionise Island's tourism industry By Neil Roberts There is a small rooftop office in Hamilton which has a window on the world -- literally.

The filing cabinets and desktop computers owned by Tango Multi-Media indicate the firm is just a tiny outfit operating from little more than a cupboard space.

That may be true. But the ambitions mapped out in Tango's home, on the roof of the Bermudiana Arcade, stretch further than the Hamilton cityscape laid out below.

They stretch to New York and beyond -- with aims of totally revolutionising Bermuda's tourism industry.

In a few short days, Tango has expanded enough to be able to boost its personnel numbers by 50 percent. It will soon become a three-person operation.

And those three people have been entrusted by senior Government officials with showing off Bermuda's brightest face to tourists from all over the planet.

The entire responsibility has not been placed in Tango's hands.

They were named last Thursday as the "local agency'' to partner J. Walter Thompson, the huge New York advertising firm which won the $11 million-a-year tender to sell Bermuda to the world.

But Tango's task is still enormous. And that's a fact which is grasped by partners Donna Tiffin and Mark Burgess, soon to be joined by junior art director Nikita Simons.

Tiffin and Burgess are advertising executives who know how to sell a product.

They list Ariel Sands and Elbow Beach, who have both been through major renovations, as two of their biggest customers. Now, less than five years after starting the company, Tiffin and Burgess have an ever-growing client list.

And they are ready to embark on their biggest project to date.

Their task will be to provide vital local support to J. Walter Thompson, as the New York agency re-crafts Bermuda's image to start a brand new worldwide advertising campaign for the Island.

Tango's input will involve providing local expertise and advice, talent-spotting the Bermudians who can work on the campaign and adding their own creative influence.

But, as Ms Tiffin says: "We can produce the most incredible ad campaign ever launched.

"But the product will not sell unless there is significant input from everybody. It's something we all have to do together.'' Bermuda's tourism is in steady decline. Last year marked a 27-year low in the league table of air arrivals, with just 368,756 plane passengers setting foot on Bermudian soil.

Now only a united effort to pull Bermuda out of the tourism doldrums will perk up the arrival figures.

"It's the level of service that needs to be improved,'' says Ms Tiffin.

"David Allen, the Tourism Minister, has already put in place programmes to reward high levels of service.

"Also, our hotels need serious investment. In cases where we have seen that happen, like Elbow Beach and Ariel Sands, those hotels are seeing the results.'' Tango -- named because it just takes two to Tango -- know they are stepping into the unknown.. .trying to succeed where DDB Needham and others may have failed.

But their aim is not to criticise previous campaigns, simply to change the approach.

"Bermuda doesn't have the same marketing problems as other places,'' says Mr.

Burgess, who entered the world of advertising as a design expert at Trimingham's.

"Analysis of the data shows that the problem with Bermuda is just getting people to act. They call it `the postponement barrier'.

"People say: `Oh, Bermuda. I'd really like to go there some time'. But then they never actually do it. People do want to come here. It's just a case of going out and getting them here.'' That means changing the way Bermuda is portrayed to visitors. No longer will the Island's only tourists be middle-aged, middle-class Americans who live along the Eastern Seaboard.

Those markets will not be neglected. But Tango share the belief that Bermuda has something to offer all types of tourists and all different age groups.

Ms Tiffin says: "For instance, Bermuda has a rich cultural history.

"Those things have never really been presented in our advertising campaigns, except to show off Bermuda as a British crown colony.

"That's attractive to some people. But to others it's not. We might not have the reef fish of some other places but we do have the wrecks.

"We have more shipwrecks here than anywhere. Bringing some things to the surface, metaphorically speaking, will help bring us all different types of visitors.

"Scotland is a golfing mecca. But I'm sure some golfers there would love to be transported here, to play in a wonderfully different climate.'' They are the ideas of two people who will play a vital role transmitting the Bermudian image to the travellers of the world.

They are also the team trusted with finding the right Bermudian photographers, artists, production workers and support staff to help sell the Island.

Burgess and Tiffin, both Bermudian, each boast more than 20 years' service in advertising.

And they know they will need to draw on every year of their experience to combat the perceptions of Bermuda's tourism woes -- including high airfares and poorer weather than the Caribbean.

Their's is just a window on the world for now. But they have the chance to rebuild Bermuda as a tourist destination, and open the door to the future.

Window of opportunity: Tango partners Mark Burgess and Donna Tiffin