But for the turnaround to be effective, the island must attract a different type of tourist than it has in the recent past.

So believes John White, who launched the Bacardi Bermuda Calypso Island Review at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess Hotel three years ago, and saw his venture quickly fail despite rave reviews.

"Our big problem was, you know the saying, 'If you build it they will come'? Well, we built the field and nobody came," he said from his home in California.

"Sometimes we were playing to 20 people; the place could hold more than 100. Fortunately, Bacardi stepped in as a sponsor at the last minute ? but we really lost our pants during that first year. Government was not interested in supporting us.

"And we felt that until Government was willing to support our plan and the visitors came back, there wasn't much we could do. We'd be beating our heads against the wall."

A former leading advertising executive and front man for The Travellers, a successful music group in the 1960s, Mr. White also produced during the 1970s.

The inspiration for his latest venture, however, came after he spotted legendary calypso singer Gene Steede, singing at the airport.

"He is our greatest entertainer," Mr. White told in 2001. "The fact that he no longer had a show led me to believe that the situation had deteriorated to gargantuan proportions and it needed some serious revival."

The result was the Bermuda Project, a registered charity designed to revive the flagging industry. Its initial goals were two-fold: To raise the standard of performances, and make sure entertainers were paid a decent salary.

Working to ensure those goals were some of the island's leading arts enthusiasts, all of whom pledged their commitment ? to write new scripts and acts, to lobby hoteliers and Government for employment opportunities, and to help hone entertainers' skills.

The Bacardi Bermuda Calypso Island Review opened at the Princess in the summer of 2002 as a tribute to the island's musical heritage featuring such talented performers as Deletta Gillespie, the Talbot Brothers, Gene and Pinky Steede, Stan Seymour and the late Hubert Smith, Sr. Whatever high hopes the group may have had for the show were soon dashed.

"Not enough people came to make it work and (the attacks on the United States on) September 11 didn't help," the producer explained. "It was really a shock to me. We had a wonderful show ? we paid tribute to the old calypsonians ? but people just didn't come.

"Since then we've been analysing what visitors are doing around the world. The visitors we are getting in Bermuda these days don't go out to night clubs; they're not interested in live performances."

The failure made it difficult to secure a venue the following year and, later, talks with former Mayor of St. George Henry Hayward to hold it at the old Somers Play House fell through.

"We worked with Henry Hayward to put on shows for cruise ships. He was willing, but (for it to work) we needed to guarantee 100 seats per night for four nights.

"The cruise ship people wouldn't guarantee those numbers. I know the group went on cruise ships five or six times last year and got incredible rave reviews; passengers said it was an incredible show but they wanted it on the ship. They didn't want to go somewhere and have to pay to see it."

Tourism figures released by the Department for July, August and September last year saw a rise in visitor numbers compared with 2002, but only because of a 23 per cent increase in cruise ship passengers. Air arrivals, on the other hand, saw a decrease of 9.9 per cent, to 82,219. For the year to date, as of December, the island saw a 7.1 per cent decrease in air arrivals, to 213,300.

The entertainment industry is in need of Government's assistance but the aid need not come in the form of a cash handout, said tourism activist Tony Brannon when contacted yesterday.

Other measures, such as a successful initiative in Ireland, which exempts artists from any form of taxation, could also encourage development.

"It's not about Government having to fund entertainment," he said. "It's about the Immigration Department getting out of the way; it's about hoteliers providing entertainment as a service just as they provide a pool, tennis courts and so on. A piano player in the lobby; a trio? In the height of the summer, it's not enough.

"If Government wants to help out (it should) waive the hospital levy; waive work permit fees for entertainers coming into Bermuda. That's how Government can facilitate a turn-around ? waive fees until we get back on track. That way Government could participate without putting any cash out.

"They could even look to the Republic of Ireland as an example. It's tax free for anybody who's an artist. Hordes of artists are flooding there. If the Bermuda Hotel Association were smart, they would hand-pick what Bermudian entertainers they wanted to use and rotate them through their properties. They would bring in bands from places with similar styles of music ? places like Trinidad, even Cuba ? and have the hotels share the cost."

Mr. Brannon agreed with Mr. White that it is difficult to make a living as an entertainer in Bermuda ? the short tourist season, the few jobs available and the wages paid, all make it a less than attractive career choice.

"Only four months of the year are profitable. You're looking at May to September. There's maybe a month on either side of that. Entertainers cannot make a living for the majority of the year here. If it were tax free, maybe it might become more economical for bars and hotels to hire talent.

"It would provide opportunities for local musicians, entertainment for residents, and something for local musicians to watch and emulate. It can all happen within three months but if not, we can write off 2004 as another lost year."

With many of the Review's members still interested in performing, Mr. White said his group was ready should tourism ever rebound.

"The talent is there; the kids are ready to jump back in, but they can't work in entertainment if they're not getting paid. So we're ready to go but waiting for tourism to come back. We're very hopeful that will happen but until we get the number of visitors back to the numbers Bermuda had ten years ago, there just aren't enough visitors to justify us playing.

"The problem, how I look at it, is that the Department of Tourism has to work with local people; so that people like Tony (Brannon) and Deletta (Gillespie) can get together and create better shows.

"If Government got together with St. George ? Government gave $150,000 and St. George $50,000 ? and we could guarantee 100 people per night, then we would be ready to go.

"We do realise we can't rely on cruise ship people; they're travelling here on a package deal. What we need are for the hotel occupancy levels to go back up to where they used to be ten years ago and Government backing.

"Our association never got the full backing of the Government and we tried so hard. It had always been our belief that if we put something together we'd get that support. We never got it."