A women's social club, 30 years old in June, will be reviving a scholarship it previously offered to a student wishing to study Tourism and Hospitality at the Bermuda College.

Bons Vivants Bermuda, a club made up of women who presently or previously worked in the tourism industry, will hold a tea and hat show this Sunday at St. Paul's Christian Education Centre starting at 3.30 p.m. Their aim is to raise enough funds to provide tuition at the college for two students beginning in September of this year.

Last year the club did not offer the scholarship but instead made donations to PALS and the Red Cross disaster Relief Fund in New York City following the September 11 terrorist attacks.

The club was started in June 1972 by Carla Fountain, previous president and director who is still a member of the club. Her role in the club's existence was recognised at a Christmas party last year when she was presented with a bouquet of flowers.

Presently there are 24 members in the club and their aim is to increase the number of members.

"We regularly invite ladies in the industries to come to our meetings and learn about us," says president Dianna Adams who has been involved with the club for two years and president for the past year.

"Many of our former members have retired or returned to their native countries so we are actively working at increasing our membership. In November we held our annual Christmas party with 42 attending. This was the largest attendance in many years.

"We had 55 members here, but a lot of those members worked at hotels that closed down. We had a lot of expatriate members and of course when the hotels closed down they left the Island.

"We're trying to bring the membership back to where it used to be, but it's difficult to do here because a lot of the people are not staying in the industry.

"We try to get hotel people to join but they say they work shift work and can't attend meetings, but they don't have to attend every meeting."

The members of the club work in the airlines, cruise and shipping line, ground transportation, hotels and related industries, the media, serve on visitor/convention/tourist boards, and as tour operators and travel agents.

Being able to get young Bermudians into the tourism industry is vital for the market, says the president who worked for almost two decades with the Department of Tourism in overseas offices in Atlanta and Boston.

"Our biggest problem is we don't have enough people going into the industry, and those who are going in are not staying," she says.

"I do know a lot of people who have been in the industry for years and years, are doing well, have the personality for it and they really love their jobs. But when you get a person who goes into the hotel to work because it is a job, they don't stay long because they are not really interested in that industry.

"We do have enough some students out there capable of doing the work but they don't feel they are getting enough encouragement.

"The tourism industry is never going to die, but people going into the industry need proper training. You can't just throw them into the industry and not train them properly."

Bons Vivants is affiliated with the International Federation of Women's Travel Organisations (IFWTO) which has clubs in 23 countries around the world.

Club Director of Bons Vivants is Charlotte Brangman who is the liaison between the Federation and the local club which meets once a month to keep members abreast of developments in the industry.

Last year Ms Brangman attended the IFWTO Convention with three other delegates, Agatha Pearman, Juliette Pitt and Cynthia Burgess. This year's convention will be held on Bangkok, Thailand. Many years ago the local club hosted a regional convention in Bermuda at the old Bermudiana Hotel.

The other officers of the club are vice president Betty Smith, secretary Brenda Zuill and treasurer Melba Lightbourne, a founding member and former president.

Those wishing to obtain tickets for the tea and hat show can purchase them at East End Florist in St. George's, or by calling vice president Betty Smith (297-0157), Carolyn Welch (292-4600) or Phyllis Emery (292-2742).