The Progressive Labour Party has criticised the third quarter tourism statistics released yesterday by the Bermuda Tourism Authority.

“Tourism is in crisis mode in Bermuda, and all the spin from the Bermuda Tourism Authority (BTA) and the One Bermuda Alliance will not change this unless swift action is taken,” said Zane DeSilva.

The Shadow Minister of Tourism added: “The recent tourism statistics, which show a marginal increase in the third quarter of air visitors (138) year on year, are disappointing and concerning.

“The only positive that can be attributed to these statistics would be the cruise ship increase of 7.3 per cent.”

It comes after tourism bosses today welcomed an increase in visitor arrivals for the third quarter of 2015, and BTA CEO Bill Hanbury described the 5.6 per cent rise in cruise, yacht and air visitors between July and September compared with the same period in 2014 as “positive news”.

According to Mr DeSilva, the PLP has “always recognised the importance of cruise ship visitors to supplement our tourism figures, even though during our term in government, the UBP/OBA refused to recognise the contributions that cruise ships and their visitors make to the economy”.

“It is clear that our investment in Heritage Wharf has paid off, as without it, these numbers would be even worse.”

But he added that while the third quarter numbers may be up marginally, arrivals year over year for this year are down significantly from 2014, “which was our worst tourism year in 48 years and was down on the 2013 numbers, showing a clear downward trend under the OBA government”.

“The OBA, in their austerity budgets, has continued to take money away from promoting Bermuda.

“Bermuda commercials and promotional material are virtually nonexistent in the international arena, yet the BTA has spent millions of dollars building a website that has yet to go live.

“We must get back to basics when it comes to restoring Bermuda as a tourist destination. We must act with urgency, and we must act now.”

Mr DeSilva said the next PLP government would increase the advertising budget as part of its tourism plan, as well as strike advertising agreements with the major broadcasting networks in North America, the UK and Europe to build on current markets and increase exposure to new markets.

Bonus payments and compensation packages would also be reassessed, he said, and where there is excess, those taxpayer funds would be reinvested into more advertising. He added that the PLP would also reduce the airport departure tax to pre-2014 levels.