David Allen's plan to expand the new African Diaspora Heritage Trail from Bermuda to Africa and the Caribbean will bear fruit.

So far the most remarkable thing about the plan is that Ms Smith and Mr. Allen should have travelled as far as South Africa to promote it.

According to the Premier, the idea was enthusiastically received and now there are plans to host Tourism Ministers from Africa and the Caribbean to discuss broadening the idea.

What has not been discussed publicly is why the Tourism Ministry is taking the lead on this subject. While Mr. Allen deserves some credit for trying to be innovative in coming up with ways to attract visitors to Bermuda, it is disturbing that something as serious as the legacy of slavery should be used as a marketing device to attract more visitors to Bermuda. This should not be mistaken for disagreement with the notion that slavery and the black experience in Bermuda should not be marked and commemorated. It is a serious part of the island's history and one which is only now receiving the recognition that it deserves. Both the legacy of slavery and discrimination should be marked and the achievements of black Bermudians who overcame those hurdles should be celebrated. And there is no question that visitors of African-American descent would have a particular interest in the subject and in the whole Middle Passage. But this is a subject which is best dealt with by historians and experts in cultural affairs. Producing brochures and using the Diaspora Trail in advertising is a little like the German Tourism Board encouraging tourists to: "Take the Holocaust Trail from Bergen Belsen to Buchenwald...and at night, the tourists can go on to enjoy some of Germany's lovely nightclubs and live entertainment.'' What is next? An African Diaspora Heritage Trail theme park where people can experience life as a slave or slave master? Instead, this should be treated with the seriousness it deserves. Historians should determine the facts and national sites should be managed by the Departments of Community Affairs and Education. If there turns out to be a spin-off advantage for tourism, then that is all the better, but it should not be the project's raison d'etre. Surely, Bermuda has already learned about the risks of Tourism leading heritage projects as a result of the island's supposed 500th anniversary in 2003 -- which is probably not the year Bermuda was discovered in. Instead, with a cavalier disregard for the facts, Bermuda is going on to celebrate the year it was not discovered in. The same risks exist with slavery and the legacy of segregation being marketed by the Tourism Department.