TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 30: Money must be urgently freed up to market the Island to winter tourists, the United Bermuda Party said this afternoon.

Shadow Tourism?Minister Cole Simons issued a statement in which he claimed this winter would be particularly bad for tourism, adding that he believed Government had little cash left to promote Bermuda.

He said:?“Bermuda needs emergency spending in core markets of the US northeast to help hotels survive the coming winter. Industry sources say this winter is shaping up to be the worst in living memory.

“It is our understanding that the Government has very few dollars left in existing budgets to promote the Island over the coming winter period. We therefore call on the Tourism Minister to secure additional funding for promotions to boost visitor arrivals in the first months of the New Year.”

Mr Simons added:?“This is a matter of survival. We believe the winter months are shaping up to be the most severe test of tourism’s viability as an island industry. Our hope is to do whatever is possible to keep hotels operational until the spring and summer when business picks up through the seasonal rise in activity and, hopefully, general recovery from recession.

“To this end, the United Bermuda Party will support, in principle, a supplementary spending plan to boost hotel arrivals from traditional markets that have served the Island well in the past.”

Full story in tomorrow's Royal Gazette