Zane DeSilva, the Shadow Minister of Tourism, has criticised the efforts of the Bermuda Tourism Authority under Bill Hanbury.

“After the worst air arrivals in 48 years in 2014, tourism numbers continue to decline under the OBA in Q1 2015,” Mr DeSilva said in a press statement this afternoon. “These declining numbers come as no surprise as taxi drivers have been telling us for months that business was slow and the impact it was having on their families. These plummeting tourism figures are bad news not just for the taxi industry but also for the countless Bermudians out of work and hoping that a revival in tourism will mean more jobs and opportunities.”

The statement continues:

Bermuda Tourism Authority CEO Bill Hanbury has said that he and the BTA would own the 2015 numbers after previously pledging a six-month turnaround. With numbers continuing to trend downwards, clearly the BTA approach under the current leadership isn’t working.

The OBA sold the BTA as an entity that would “run tourism like a business”. Yet in the business world, individuals are held accountable for not meeting deliverables. In this case, we see all of the people who should be held accountable and taking responsibility for these numbers, running for cover. From the BTA CEO to Tourism Minister Shawn Crockwell, no one is taking responsibility and no one is being held accountable. This is clearly not a recipe for success.

In 2014, The PLP called for increased investment in tourism. That call was ignored and these dismal numbers are the result. The PLP’s believes that Bermuda’s position as a tourism destination has been marginalised in the global market by an underfunded tourism marketing budget. We have to invest in tourism and the current budget simply isn’t competitive when we look at the millions being spent by our more successful competitors. This is evidenced by almost every single one of our competitors in the Caribbean seeing an increase in air arrivals over the past 18 months.

We further believe that marketing alone will not turn tourism around. Our product must modernise, encouraging greater Bermudian entrepreneurship and inventiveness while continuing to elevate service standards and amenities available to our guests.