The New York tourism office is concentrating on restructuring and refocusing its staff after a tumultuous few months, according to the Island's new Director of Tourism.

Speaking in his first in-depth interview since he took the position in September, William 'Billy' Griffith said he looked forward to putting the turmoil behind the department and focusing on luring visitors to Bermuda.

In July, Tourism Minister Ewart Brown announced a US firm would take over the New York office. The move made several Bermudians redundant with only five weeks' notice. Tourism employees said they felt "deceived" and "deeply disrespected" by the outsourcing of their jobs. The situation resulted in a stand-off between the Bermuda Public Services Union and Government, which ended when the union dropped its push for a judicial review of the outsourcing decision in late September.

Mr. Griffith said he was confident that the worst was now over, but added that he was aware it was a very trying time for everyone: "The restructuring of the New York office is going well. We have appointed a new team, smaller in size, and people are starting to focus on their new roles. We are moving towards a more consumer driven approach, focusing less on travel agents and more on reaching our customers directly though the Internet and ad campaigns.

"I respect the fact that it has been a difficult and emotional period for everyone, however the reorganisation will be implemented.

"We have been working very diligently with the new reduced team. I am not under any illusions, we are trying to get the tourism team as a whole to refocus on business. I think for a while there were a lot of issues and worry, understandably, about their jobs, and that took away from getting business done."

When asked if the turmoil, which began at the height of Bermuda's tourism season, could have been the cause for recent poor arrivals numbers, he said: "I don't think that the issues in the New York office are the only reason recent arrivals numbers have been lower, the current economy has been another major factor, but I don't think it has helped."

n Read full interview – in news