Bermuda Vows to “Remove Politics” from Tourism Administration

Creating a tourism authority that will “remove politics” from the administration of Bermuda’s tourism policies will be the primary goal of the tourism department under the country’s new administration, said Shawn Crockwell, Bermuda’s new minister of tourism and transport.

Crockwell took over as tourism minister last month in a change of government that saw Craig Cannonier sworn in as Bermuda’s new premier. He will seek to reverse a trend that has seen Bermuda’s air arrivals decline steadily in the last several years, while its cruise business has been threatened by increasingly outdated facilities and local transportation issues.

“The most important thing is creating a tourism authority,” said Crockwell during a recent meeting with reporters in New York. “We have to take politics out of the tourism administration and put it in the hands of tourism professionals,” he said.

A tourism authority is viewed as essential to reversing Bermuda’s declining tourist arrivals, as its members will manage the country’s tourism growth absent of political influence. The authority was an election pledge from Crockwell’s One Bermuda Alliance political party, which has told local media it hopes to have the authority running within six months.

To that end, Crockwell last month named veteran Bermuda hotelier David Dodwell, president of The Reefs resort, chairman designate of the yet-to-be-created tourism authority. “Tourism must be driven by the professionals in the industry,” said Crockwell in naming Dodwell to the new post.

Crockwell attributed Bermuda’s sliding tourist arrival numbers to a “lack of continuity” in the country’s tourism promotion. “We had three tourism ministers within the last administration. That is not continuity,” he said. “We want to set up a system that takes politics out of the process and, despite changes in the government, can remain consistent. We also want to create consistent branding for our destination like the Bahamas or Jamaica.”

Crockwell’s office will also address the delays and confusion that overtake Bermuda’s local transportation when a large contingent of tourists arrives at the island. “Transportation becomes an issue that can cause disquiet when there is a concentration of cruise ships moored in the Dockyard, and there are as many as 10,000 visitors having a problem with local transport,” said Crockwell. “This is a priority issue. We have purchased new buses and we are also open to creative alternatives like utilizing water taxis. We want to make it so that transportation is not a challenge for guests.”

He added that Bermuda is considering the implementation of casino gaming as another means of boosting tourist traffic.

“Both of our political parties have said that the issue of casino gambling should be decided by referendum. That remains the official position,” said Crockwell. “The government will be taking a close look at casinos in Bermuda. The thing is that casinos are not a silver bullet, and if we do introduce casinos in Bermuda, we have to get it right, because we only have one chance. We don’t want to change the overall characteristic of the country.”

Source: Travel Pulse, http://www.travelpulse.com/bermuda-vows-to-remove-politics-from-tourism-administration.html