“We need to get rid of the cruise ships!”“No, no we need more entertainment.”“What are you talking about? Bermuda’s tourism needs a new hotel.”We’ve been here before: the tired debate about why Bermuda’s tourism is failing.Before I go on I will apologise and admit this week’s column is not about travel away from Bermuda. But who is going to be able to travel unless we start bringing some money into Bermuda? Wouldn’t someone like to start making money off our tourism to be tourists somewhere else? I thought so.So let’s look at the organisation that Government has most recently expanded to help with our tourism product: the Tourism Board.In December last year Minister of Business Development and Tourism, Patrice Minors, stated that the board would add new members to reflect the change in her Ministry.Unfortunately, since then the most interesting news surrounding the Tourism Board made headlines last week with the axing of one of its members, Tony Brannon.Is that a good thing? I would say, no. So here are my very own suggestions for the Tourism Board based on products I have seen for years on my own travels.Let’s take my suggestion one from Singapore’s Tourism Board. Yep, board not authority and really that is just an argument of semantics so let’s drop it. Have you visited their website? https://app.stb.gov.sg. Listed there is a statement of exactly what they do, how they do it and who is doing what. Do we know exactly what Bermuda’s Tourism Board’s mission is? Do we know who is doing what? So might I suggest Bermuda’s Tourism Board publish their own mission, values and organisational chart?My second piece of advice is check the Singapore website again. Do you see business tourism there? Right. It is its own category and that is the way, I think, it should be. Vacations and business are two differyent travel needs and really we are mixing up our visitors. If we create a committee that focuses on business and one for vacationers we start separating our apples and oranges.Perhaps I am repeating what the Bermuda Tourism Board discussed in their two-day retreat in April. Who knows? Well the people who attended, I guess. So here is my third piece of advice: make your process and ideas public. Take the mystery out of it all.Which brings me to four: why not create a website for the Tourism Board? As I researched this column I looked for the Tourism Board’s website. I was only able to find a basic blog that asked the public for tourism suggestions. Well, it’s great to consult, but really we are just trotting out the same horses: nicer people, better transport, cheaper accommodation, etc ... So maybe the time to consult is over and the time to make decisions and place your names behind them on a public website is here?Suggestion five? Stop shooting for the moon. How about just trying to reach the stars? Let’s start with just creating a few goals. Bermuda is not going to be back on a map in a year, but here’s a start: Goal 1: create a symbol and slogan that portrays Bermuda for advertising. Perhaps we need a rethink of “feel the love”. It’s kinda creepy.Goal 2: create a great marketing campaign that uses Bermudians to sell their country and sells a product that feels good.Goal 3: market Bermuda to our businesses as a place for conventions (but really market it to them).Suggestion six: publish those goals on your website and then ask the public to actually create the symbol and slogan. Give them actual physical buy-in. It could even be a competition. The top ten applicants will be featured on your website and everyone can vote. An American Idol of sorts for tourism. These are actual constructive ways to start moving forward. Sure there are big picture changes that need to be ushered in as well, but start somewhere you can actually rally the troops.And my seventh suggestion looks to Jamaica (which by the way has a Tourism Board with a website). On the American State Department pages, they regularly warn their citizens about travelling to Jamaica because of the crime, which they describe as “a serious problem in Jamaica”. Yet watch any of their tourism ads on You Tube. They are funny, they are creative and they give you a sense of who Jamaica is. The advertising also means I’m not really all that worried about what the State Department has to say; I like the vibe the advertising conveys.Which brings me to eight: Let’s stop taking ourselves so seriously! We like to have fun, Bermuda, so why not convey that in our message also! We have Cup Match. We like to walk in parades. We love cheering on sadistic runners who drag themselves along our roads in the heat of the day. Let’s give the public a “sense” of what and who Bermuda is; a vibe as such.Suggestion nine: use BERMUDIANS to convey our vibe. I don’t mean the videographers, etc. That would be great, but like Jamaica has capitalised on Bolt, why can’t we capitalise on our famous cricketer Sluggo aka Dwayne Leverock? Um, I can see an ad for the UK already. And in America? Why not feature our own reggae singer Mishka who is touring the United States and has the backing of actor Matthew McConaughey? Heck, why not use the ‘Proud to be a Bermudian’ song as music for an ad? (BTW I said it first!).Finally, let’s stop trying to pretend our product is so bad. We can criticise until we do nothing, but at the end of the day we don’t have the crime of Jamaica. We don’t have the diseases that people are willing to get shots for to visit South East Asia. We do have beautiful beaches, gorgeous water and, yes, friendly people. We are only hours from the East Coast of North America. Let’s sell it! Visit my website www.robynswanderings.com to add your suggestions or comments and I promise next week we will be back to travelling. Travelling with your phone? Oh yes, to roam or not to roam. Until next week, “So long mon.”