The following letter was sent to the Bermuda Tourism Authority and copied to The Royal Gazette.

September 8, 2014

Dear Sir,

Please find the attached commentary and proposal for Bermuda. We love Bermuda and want it to retain its beauty and unique character for future generations to enjoy.

It is with this we send our feelings and thoughts for stopping what will eventually destroy what we have come to love. The proposal offered may not be the ultimate solution but embodies the desire to bring back and retain those qualities that have for generations defined Bermuda. All we ask is the consideration of the intent of this e-mail. You have the opportunity to make a difference. It is our hope you have the vision and the wisdom to do so!

SAL STAIANO & DEBBIE COLLINS

sgstaiano@earthlink.net

A new, revitalised Bermuda, our proposal:

My wife and I have just returned from our 25th trip to Bermuda, after a five-year gap. Prior to that we had visited almost every year. We are very upset to see how Bermuda has changed.

Having always spent most of our time exploring the Island on scooters, for the first time we felt unsafe.

I ride a motorcycle at home and we are both comfortable on scooters, but the traffic is too fast and there are some motorbikes that are totally out of control. On several occasions we encountered bikes going in excess of 80km/hr. The volume of traffic has increased significantly and the raised speed limit is not making it comfortable for tourists that are not experienced on scooters.

We love Bermuda and the beauty abounds throughout the Island and yet we have seen the consistent effort to isolate the interior of the Island from tourists.

The strength of tourism in Bermuda has always been Bermuda itself with all its many pockets of beauty.

These could be seen by scooter or an extensive transportation system that made it accessible.

Bermuda has limited its bus and ferry service and made travel by scooter hazardous. It is no wonder all the small guest houses and local restaurants are disappearing.

The Dockyard has become a carnival contributing nothing but money with no substance for the Island and the reliance on the insurance, computer industry and banking has not turned out as well as expected. Like so much poor management, that lack of balance in Bermuda’s economy will eventually ruin one of the most beautiful islands.

The strength of Bermuda has always been it very special beauty and style. This needs to be sold by letting people see and experience this beauty.

None of this is going to happen the way things are going.

We would like to propose some thoughts that could bring people back into the real Bermuda and share the revenue of the Island with cruise ships, high end hotel tourism and the commercial banking, computer and insurance enterprises.

The steps would be as follows:

1. Reduce the current speed limit to 30km/hr and strictly enforce it.

2. Re-instate the bus service so all of the Island is served.

3. Re-instate the complete ferry service system.

4. Develop package deals for tourism as follows:

All-inclusive packages to be developed that include airfare and guest house lodging and several levels of food vouchers. With this package there would be transportation options as follows:

1. Scooter rental.

2. Ferry and bus.

3. Taxi (this would have a centralised dispatch which you would call when you wanted to go somewhere. They would drop you off and leave. You then call dispatch when you wanted to leave and a cab close to the area would pick you up).

This system would allow a range of options for people to choose a transportation method they are comfortable with. Tying the package in to the guest houses will pull tourism back into the interior of the Island providing the strength to a disappearing infrastructure of restaurants, shops and services.