Statistics published in The Royal Gazette on Saturday showing that the Bermuda had a higher per capita murder rate than London or New York City need to be taken seriously, even with the caveat that per capita figures can be easily skewed in small countries.

Taken over five years, Bermuda's murder rate was still 3.3 murders, three times the rate in London and not so far below New York City's. In any event, six murders in one year is unacceptable under any circumstances. What is also worrying, according to the statistics, is the trend, which has seen Bermuda from just one murder in 2006 to three in 2007 to five in 2008 and to six last year.

Similarly, firearms offences are also going the same way. Between 2003 and 2005 there were an average of 16 firearms offences a year. This plunged to eight in 2006 but peaked at 21 in 2009. That suggests that 2009 was not an anomaly, but part of a worsening situation, which shows no signs of abating.

Worse, most of this year's murders remain unsolved without charges being laid against the alleged perpetrators. This is a change from previous years when Police were able to bring charges and prosecutors got convictions in most of those cases.

The good news is that it will not take much to reverse the trend. A drop to four murders would see Bermuda fall back down the murder charts. But while welcome, that will still not be acceptable. Bermuda needs to solve the problem before it gets any worse.

Tourism statistics

According to Bermuda Hotel Association statistics obtained by The Royal Gazette, Bermuda's hotels saw a decline in the number of rooms sold in 2009 of 11 percent, while the actual rate of occupancy fell seven percentage points from 61 percent to 54 percent.

While the decline slowed down in the second half of the year, the numbers make for stark reading and, even allowing for the global recession that roiled tourism in 2009, there is not much to draw solace from. Worse, projected occupancy figures for 2010 are also trailing 2009's dismal numbers. Bermuda Hotel Association president Michael Winfield says they are worst he can remember.

What can be done to reverse the trend? One effort being undertaken now is to offer Bermuda hotel rooms at 50 percent off, and as a short term effort, that is welcome. But deep discounting of this kind is ultimately self-defeating and needs to be done sparingly.

First, deep discounts are unprofitable, even if they do put heads on beds, meaning hotels can lose more money than they would if the room was empty.

Only if they are followed by further bookings at viable rates do they make sense. Secondly, they create a mindset among visitors that they should "wait for the sale". This is a mindset that is all too familiar among retailers and needs to be resisted since in the end it means a continuous sale, continuous losses and eventual bankruptcy.

The long term solution remains the same. Bermuda hotels need to reduce the cost of doing business in order to be able to offer a vacation at a reasonable price. At the same time, there needs to be continuous improvements in service. This is not easy to accomplish, but not doing it means the industry will fail.