Tourism staff overseas are enthusiastically embracing the radical reorganisation of the department ? even if there is some resistance here in Bermuda ? marketing guru Elliott Ettenberg said yesterday.

And he heaped praise on Tourism Minister Renee Webb for pushing ahead with the reforms he recommended in his report last year, even though some staff on Island have complained about the Minister?s allegedly abrasive style.

In an exclusive interview with , Mr. Ettenberg revealed that Tourism?s Washington office ? which only opened in 2002 ? is set to close shortly and the Boston outlet will close its doors in the longer term, although there will be no loss of jobs.

This would leave US offices in New York and Atlanta as well as a string of satellite sales operations in other parts of the US.

It is part of a strategy to concentrate marketing on the East Coast gateway cities of New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Washington and Baltimore which he said has resulted in marketing dollars spent on these areas doubling.

All North American sales staff will report to a senior sales officer in Atlanta. Group and incentive sales, which were spread throughout the country, will be centralised in New York, where the sales head office will remain.

Assistant Cabinet Secretary Khamisi Tokunbo is currently conducting an inquiry into complaints from Tourism staff about Ms Webb?s behaviour, which is alleged to include rudeness, bullying and ?carelessness with the truth?.

Ms Webb has said the complaints emanate from disgruntled staff who are resistant to change, and yesterday Mr. Ettenberg said there will always be people who have difficulty with change.

He is currently on the Island as part of a week-long team-building exercise, which includes tourism staff from North America.

His report for the Department of Tourism last year recommended focusing resources on gateway markets, targeting wealthy visitors between 35 and 60, and trying to attract new tourists.

?I am really encouraged by the degree to which everyone has accepted and adapted to the reality,? he told yesterday.

?There is resistance and there are pockets of people who don?t want to get on the train and you will find those exceptions, but overall, it has been really well received.

?I just think people are not used to this degree of competence and intelligence (from Ms Webb). This woman has one of fastest awarenesses of any client I have worked for in the way she stays ahead of the thought process.

?For me, it is a pleasure that decisions are made quickly and backed up. A lot of people in an organisation have not had that kind of management, but that is the kind of management needed to turn tourism around.

?We?re making great strides. I can recall when I was with the Department staff getting input and the biggest concern was that my report would become another report that got shelved with the others and nothing would happen. But they had not been exposed to Minister Webb and things are happening.

?The reorganisation has been accepted, there is enthusiasm for the change in focus and the way we spend money.

?The big advantage is that there is a lot of talent and they starting to get the chance to live and breathe. Another big advantage is they are being able to talk about successes and cross-fertilise.

?When interviewing them, the quality of the management was quite good, and the thinking was really good, and now they have the opportunity to let them do their very best, and that is what the minister is doing.

?Most of them can see why were doing it and there is excitement about the way we want to go forward, and they have really tackled the great challenge to personal growth. Some people have been moving from one city to the next with their families and modified their lives.?

He said he was confident the marketing focus on the gateway cities will yield more visitors this summer.

?We?ve doubled the marketing budget for the gateway cities as a percentage of money spent on these cities,? he said.

?The Minister understood straight from the beginning about focusing on a narrowing area of the market and she resisted calls for a $3 or $4 million increase in the budget, and she agreed we need to put more money into these markets.

?As a result of holding off (until the report was complete), she has accomplished what she wanted to do. We have a much more exposed media strategy and that will show in visitor numbers.?

Referring to office closures, he said: ?We have to respect lease issues before we close, but I expect Washington will end up closed in the short-term and Boston will end up in the long-term.?