August 29, 2012Dear Sir,There was an interesting discussion in The Royal Gazette this morning concerning the influence of negative comments about Bermuda made in the media and “online posts”. It is interesting that the travel agents are apparently upset that it is affecting their income. They are not commenting on the truth of the negative comments or on the condition of the premises they rent to the unsuspecting tourists. It is time that the Tourism Department did routine inspections of these premises that all too often are not in the pristine condition advertised.It was of particular interest to read the comments as reported by your journalist Ayo Johnson concerning the replies of the Minister of Tourism Wayne Furbert. The Minister is reported to have said he had nothing to say about the report that Bermuda was not a ‘Gay Friendly place’. He later said that he did not understand what was meant by ‘Gay Friendly’. He then went on to say that “until I am clear what they mean I cannot answer”.It would be difficult for the Minister to make a suitable comment since he was one of the “Key” speakers in Parliament when there was the debate on the proposal put forward by Dr John Stubbs to make homosexuality legal in Bermuda. It was a “free vote” in Parliament and a member did not have to commit to a political party. Mr Furbert spoke eloquently against gay people, making many quotes from the Bible.One should not expect the present Minister to now welcome Gay People with open arms.TRUTH PREVAILSPembroke