Bermuda Seeks Consulting Firm to Create National Tourism Plan

Bermuda Seeks Consulting Firm to Create National Tourism Plan
By Brian Major

Bermuda’s government issued a request for proposals (RFP) seeking a consulting firm to create a national tourism plan to address the island’s “struggling” tourism industry, according to local press reports, which cite government sources.

Issued by Bermuda’s Ministry of Business Development, the RFP seeks a firm to create a plan that would include the formulation of three-, five- and 10-year milestones for reviving Bermuda tourism; potential establishment of a tourism authority; prospects for investment in new hotel development; the establishment of a convention center; methods for attracting tourists year-around; and strategies for promoting the island as a medical tourism destination.

Bermuda is requiring responses by Nov. 14 and will award the $200,000 project on Nov. 30. The selected firm will have access to government polls of air and cruise visitors and staff, exit surveys from 2009 through 2010, and an inventory of the island’s hotels and capacities, along with Bermuda Tourism Board minutes from this year, summaries of meetings with industry stakeholders, and tourism authority documents from other jurisdictions.