the visitor who desires "unparalleled peace of mind''.

That is what officials hope will result from the first Five Year Plan. The theory does, of course, reflect Bermuda as it used to be. Today it will very much depend on what visitors consider as "unparalled peace of mind'' and whether Bermuda can ever again supply such a thing. The days when Bermuda could be billed as "The Isles of Rest'' are long over.

Over the last eight weeks, The Tourism Marketing Strategy Task Force, composed of 20 Bermudians, met and produced a 55-page report which focuses on two major areas. The first is to fix Bermuda as an "entire island resort'' in the hearts and minds of customers and the second is for the local population to rally around the plan.

The five year plan meshes with the recommendations for the future of tourism made by the Monitor Group. In this case the plan is the easy part. Changing Bermuda to provide peace of mind will be the hard part. Yet it is a refinement designed to guarantee the future.

The plan involves viewing the entire Island as a resort aimed at a sophisticated traveller who desires relief from stress, a need for a change, leisure time and value for money.

Changes are possible if Bermuda can achieve even a little general thinking about what to do. It seems to us there is likely to be a problem getting Bermudians to accept a Five Year Plan into which they have to put individual and collective effort when they have become accustomed to letting Government do it. We do not believe many Bermudians any longer see tourism as personal to them or to their families or even to their income.

Tourism Minister David Dodwell has said: "I want the Country to realise that Bermudians are the owners of this plan.'' It would seem that the primary object should be to get Bermudians to accept the idea and then to allow visitor appreciation to grow from the improvements to Bermuda springing from Bermudian acceptance. Otherwise you run the risk of inviting visitors to enjoy something which does not exist.

Minister Dodwell has said: "We are trying to eliminate the idea of the Government being the master strategist. That is paternalistic and what we want is for the Country to buy into this challenge.'' We agree entirely that with effort Bermuda can have the facilities and the right approach to accommodate such a traveller. But there is a vital role for Government to play.

Government needs to set an example by getting its ministries to cooperate toward visitor satisfaction. Right now Government is a real part of Bermuda's tourism problem. Start with Transport and the terrifying traffic, the need for buses, ferries and taxis to better serve visitors and the need for an alternative to dangerous mopeds.

Get Customs and Immigration to accept that they have a real impact on visitors and are not the secret police.

Get Tourism to reinstate the old Bermuda News Bureau, the abolition of which was madness. Tourism could convince the hotels that they could help if they stopped trying to confine clients to their hotels and let them enjoy outside activities. They are boring their own guests.

Get Education to further develop teaching in support of tourism and against drugs.

Get the Ministry of Finance to look seriously at funding for those institutions which constitute cultural tourism. The list of areas where Government could help is endless but so is the red tape and the obstruction.

We agree that Bermuda needs a people's initiative but it should begin with the Ministries.