Civic leaders in St. George's are hoping to reintroduce historic costumes to the old town to bring its rich history back to life and attract more tourists.

St. George's Foundation chairman David Rowntree said he was hopeful retailers and some townsfolk will begin wearing historic dress by the summer.

The last attempt fizzled out around four years ago, but the St. George's division of the Chamber of Commerce heard yesterday that the old town must look at resurrecting the idea if it is to build on its recently-acquired World Heritage status and take cultural tourism seriously.

Meanwhile, the town has been urged to look to historic US east coast towns such as Jamestown, Williamsburg and Plymouth to learn how to market St.

George's to cultural tourists.

Curator of Forts and Historic Sites Lance Furbert told the Chamber that St.

George's must emphasise the key role Bermuda played in the founding of the New World.

And while the three US sites were recreations, St. George's was still a living town with architecture dating back to the early 17th century.

St. George's Mayor Henry Hayward said yesterday: "Costume dress is something we have to move towards if we are going to be serious about being in the tourism business and St. George's is the ideal place to market cultural tourism.'' He said costume events such as those featuring Town Crier E. Michael Jones and the ducking stool were enormously popular and visitors wanted more.

Historic town dresses up "If we are serious about this it has to be done in a planned way, it can't be tacky dress.

"The costumes must be accurate as do the facts given out to the visitors. It is the way to go in the long-term, plus more re-enactments.

"It is not practical to do it like Williamsburg (where everyone is in dress) because it is a museum and we are a living town, but we've got the stage, we've got the scenery, and all we need are the actors''.

Mr. Furbert said Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Plymouth had enormous numbers of staff who appear in dress and were brilliantly marketed. Jamestown has 166 full-time staff, while Williamsburg has 3,500 employees.

St. George's could not employ anywhere near as many full-time staff in dress, so everyone would have to pull together and volunteer.

"Jamestown is a recreation, its an archeological site, but Bermuda is the only settlement where the town still exists and it is very much a living town.'' He said Plymouth, where the Pilgrim Fathers settled, was visited by a million visitors a year, and this was due to brilliant marketing.

An example of a living history exhibition could involve someone dressed as President Henry Tucker talking about the gunpowder plot.

He suggested more use of 17th century costume to make the town's history come to life.

After the meeting, Mr. Rowntree said: "I would encourage that and we are going to work towards that end.

"We would like to encourage townsfolk sometime through the week to dress up and come into town.'' As part of the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme, teens have to do some voluntary service, and it is hoped some may dress up as guides for the town, added Mr.

Rowntree.

"Maybe they could come to the town and be trained as guides and give that ambience of people walking around in dress.

"We would like to think we could get it for summer but it will require a lot of effort in a short period of time.

"We are looking for everyone's participation and thoughts on how we can do things and improve things.''