Hello, Bermuda. I’m staying on the subject of tourism for a second week. Space limited me to only a few comments on this subject last week. But this week I will delve further into the subject of how we can revive tourism. More on this later, after the Top 20.Up to #1 is Can’t Be Friends by Trey Songz. Tumbling to #2 is Bottoms Up by Trey Songz featuring Nicki Minaj. This one is all over the radio and it kicks. Holding at #3 is Rihanna with her pop/dance worldwide hit and DJLT’s favourite track of the moment Only Girl In The World. Ke$ha’s hit pop single, We R Who We R, can’t move up this week and thus holds at #4.Up to #5 is Like a G6 by Far*East Movement featuring Cataracs & Dev. This is a hot, creative and well produced track, with several versions. Slipping to #6 is Just A Dream by Nelly. Improving to #7 is Raise Your Glass by Pink. Up to #8 it’s What’s My Name by Rihanna featuring Drake. Navigating down to #9 is DJ Got Us Falling In Love by Usher featuring Pitbull.Climbing to #10 is Firework by Katy Perry. Up to #11 is Louder (Put Your Hands Up) by Chris Willis, which is doing well internationally. Improving #12 is Grenade by artist Bruno Mars. Tumbling to #13 is Teenage Dream by Katy Perry. Falling to #14 is Holding You Down by Jazmine Sullivan. Falling to #15 is Just The Way You Are, also by Bruno Mars.Now the new tracks. Up to #16 is Hold It Against Me by Brittney Spears. Up at #17 is Aston Martin Music by Rick Ross featuring Drake and Chrisette Michelle.Falling to #18 is Dirty Picture by Taio Cruz featuring Ke$ha. Slipping to #19 is Champagne Life by Neo. Tumbling to #20 is I Like It by Enrique Iglesias featuring Pitbull.Now back to this week’s word reviving Bermuda’s tourism industry. Let me start by addressing the notion of whether we should have a tourism authority. The answer is yes, but not the way it is being proposed.The supporters of a tourism authority would like for the Bermuda Government to just give them the $40 million tourism budget and get out of the way. Sorry, it doesn’t work like that.In jurisdictions where tourism authorities work successfully, the private sector and the government pool their funds and contribute EQUAL shares. Then everybody can have a say because the private sector is investing just as much as the Government.But oh no! Our tourism authority advocates just want the Premier and Finance Minister Paula Cox to write them a $40 million cheque every year, leave them alone, and have the Government have no say or input.Think about how ridiculous this is.Who in their right mind would give another person or entity complete control over that large sum of money without some rules, regulations, directives, accountability, involvement, etc? So don’t step to me with this kind of garbage proposal for a tourism authority.What could work is if the private sector came up with some money (like $1 million or more) and asked Government to match it. That would be fair and I think is more likely to be accepted by the Government than what is on the table today.The Government’s share could be taken from the Bermuda Department of Tourism’s budget.So, when the private sector has some money to put up, holla at Government about setting up a tourism authority. But until then, WHATEVER!A question was put to me by an associate, who asked why the hotels don’t have special packages for locals.The answer is that hotels do, but I am duty-bound to state why hotels may be reluctant to have ‘certain’ locals as patrons. Too many locals:a) trash hotel rooms and other sections of hotel premises;b) smoke weed on the premises;c) have fights, domestic disputes and drama on the hotel premises;d) pack more people in the rooms than the hotel policy allows;e) can’t pay/afford the room rate and charges they incur;f) dispute charges at checkout when they did authorise the expenditures;g) want to be treated like a guest paying $600 per night but don’t want to pay that much;h) bring outside food and beverages into the hotel when the hotel would prefer to rent that room to a guest who will use its restaurants/room service;i) end up costing the hotel more to accommodate them than the revenue that might be generated.Some recommendations to improve the tourism industry are as follows:n Meet with unions, hoteliers, restaurants, dive shops, attractions, places of interest, taxis, buses, ferries and all those who service tourists and brainstorm for ways to reduce the cost of doing business in Bermuda.n Get the unions to agree to rewrite job descriptions so that hotel employees can be more flexible like the employees that Club Med used to have, whereby people aren’t waiters or front desk clerks or chambermaids but are just workers who can do anything reasonably required by the hotel based on need. In other words, you might be a waiter today but tomorrow you may be asked to paint the walls in a room. I’m thinking this is a better use of resources. It might negate the need for so many guest workers and it would keep people employed all year. This is not new. It’s the way hotels ran years ago but Bermudians became too proud and stuffy to do certain types of work. Well my fellow Bermudians, it doesn’t work like that anymore, especially if you want to work.n We still have to work on our transportation situation.It’s still not quite right and is not as user-friendly as it should be or providing the level of service needed and desired by visitors. There are too many gaps in the public transportation system and many people don’t always want to take a taxi. There has to be a solution. Let’s find it.n Entertainment. We have to develop activities and entertainment options for visitors and even locals who need more to do after dinner is done at 9pm. Shine’s House of Music is fantastic and should be sustained, supported and encouraged. We don’t have Hubie’s anymore so this spot is needed.n I’m not exactly in love with the idea of a casino but it may be time to revisit it to determine if there is a fit, a way we can introduce it without it having the negative impact so many of us are convinced that it will create.n Promote hotels to targetted locals who can afford to stay in a hotel during periods of low demand.I know tourism, and this will work. Peace ... DJLT.