Bermuda should reposition its tourism product stringently according to visitors’ needs and wants, a travel expert has claimed.

Gary Kent-Smith, senior travel adviser at Trip Bermuda, suggested that the island’s tourism sector had an “attitude problem” when it came to meeting holidaymakers’ demands.

“We tend to tell visitors, ‘This is what we have, and you’re going to have to settle for that’, rather than asking what they would like here,” he said.

“Has there been a survey done to find out what tourists want when they go on a vacation?”

Mr Kent-Smith argued that a long-term concern for the island was giving vacationers value for money during their stay here.

“At times I question whether the overall Bermuda experience is worth what the tourist is being charged,” he said.

“You can get a hotel in a major American or Canadian city for around the same price as you pay here, but there’s more to do there, so the overall experience has more value.”

Mr Kent-Smith denied that the post-Brexit currency fluctuations would have any significant effect on Bermuda’s visitor numbers, as suggested by statistician Cordell Riley.

In a Royal Gazette opinion piece last week, Mr Riley asserted that the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union could have a noticeable impact on dollar-based destinations such as Bermuda.

He said that the weakening of the Euro and British pound essentially put “the whole of Europe on sale” to American tourists, while also dissuading Europeans to visit Bermuda as their money would not go as far as before.

“It’s just one more challenge to our tourism industry,” Mr Kent-Smith said.

“I personally think the impact will be minimal once the pound settles.”

However, Mr Kent-Smith said that he agreed with Mr Riley’s idea that Bermuda could formulate a “Brexit package” to offset any potential decline in tourists.

This package, according to Mr Riley, might include air fare, hotels, transfers and restaurant discounts.

“That actually makes sense, let’s make lemonade out of lemons,” Mr Kent-Smith said.

Regarding possible Brexit repercussions, Glenn Jones of the Bermuda Tourism Authority said that the organisation was “reviewing impact scenarios and preparing strategies to mitigate any negative effects”.

“A devalued currency in the UK is certainly a headwind for the Bermuda tourism industry, as we move through the second half of the year,” Mr Jones said, adding that US visitor numbers were nonetheless up 16 per cent from 2015.