In the latest of a series on Premier the Hon. David Saul's new Cabinet, The Royal Gazette profiles the Minister for Tourism, the Hon. David Dodwell.

As a veteran of the hotel trade -- almost half his life has been spent in the industry -- he is well placed to see the ills which have beset Bermuda's lifeblood.

Now, though, he is charged with curing those ills, injecting new blood into the ailing industry and ensuring that a pillar of the economy does not crumble.

The Hon. David Dodwell, the Minister for Tourism, may be a rookie politician, but he is clear about what he has to achieve and how he will achieve it.

"I am really enthusiastic and encouraged by the job. However, it should not just be the Minister and the Ministry solving the problems. I see myself as a catalyst, bringing the community together to rebuild tourism,'' he said.

Mr. Dodwell became Bermuda's new Minister for Tourism and Marine Services on August 29, 1995, a little under two years after being elected to Parliament, in October 1993.

Although relatively new to the political scene, his track record both in the community and within the tourism sector is extensive.

He first joined the Reefs as manager in 1972, taking over the majority interest nine years later, he has served as a member and President of the Bermuda Hotel Association and was also President of the Hotel Employers of Bermuda.

He was chairman of the Training Hotels Operations Committee, a member of the Hotel College Advisory Committee of the Bermuda College and a member of the Bermuda College Hospitality and Tourism Degree Committee.

Within the community, Mr. Dodwell has been equally busy serving on the Police Advisory Board, the Labour Advisory Council, the Essential Industries Dispute Board and the Fund Raising Committee (Hotel Industry) of the Bermuda National Trust.

The list of tourism and community involvement goes on. He has represented Bermuda overseas at the Duke of Edinburgh's Seventh Commonwealth Study Conference, he is a member of the Sandys Rotary Club and the Bermuda Skal Club.

But of the job at hand, he is in no doubt about what has to be done. "We have to rebuild tourism from two different standpoints -- emotionally and culturally. We have to some degree lost our way over the last ten years.'' Although only in the job for a matter of weeks, Mr. Dodwell has several ideas for the future.

He believes in a Tourism Appreciation Programme -- working with the Education Ministry to incorporate tourism understanding into the schools' curriculum.

It should also involve going into households, going into schools, teaching about tourism at a level at which it can be understood, for instance teaching high school children how important it is to the economy.

Another important aspect that Mr. Dodwell wants to expand is research, detailing customer trends, which age group would be most likely to come to Bermuda and what they want.

And an innovative idea is the Bermuda Ambassador -- a group of people meeting and greeting visitors whether at the airport or on the streets.

They could meet people as they arrive with a welcoming drink -- a Swizzle perhaps -- and help visitors around as well as make them feel welcome.

Tourism Advisory Boards are another idea Mr. Dodwell holds as a way of bringing talented people on board to share new ideas to boost the tourism industry.

"I have been going around seeing five or six people a day and there is much more to do. It has to be a two way thing, listening to people and getting input,'' added Mr. Dodwell.

"The short term objective is to get the tourism numbers up and that is what I am working on. We need to look at marketing and look at the product -- is Bermuda offering what the customer of 1995 wants or are we giving the customers what we think they want? "We sell a service and we sell a memory. How we sell the memory gives us the ability to forge ahead for the future.'' He said of the people he has seen so far they want to share ideas, they wanted to participate and they wanted to be involved.

"It is a team thing, we have to bring people together and educate others.'' The Hon. David Dodwell