Bermuda Chamber of Commerce has plunged into an insolvent position after suffering a $292,7927 loss in 2006, mostly as a result of Government ending the chamber’s contract to run the Island’s five visitor service bureaux.

The losses swallowed up all the chamber’s previous cash reserves and, as of the end of last year, left the business group with a deficit of $192,456.

Discussions are being held with the Department of Tourism seeking assistance to shoulder some of the financial burden caused by the loss of the visitor bureaux, which have resulted in staff redundancy payments alone estimated at $80,000.

The chamber had previously been receiving an annual subsidy of $540,000 from Government to run the bureaux.

Outgoing Chamber of Commerce president Peter Everson referred to the financial statement as a “bleak picture” when he addressed the chamber’s annual meeting at the Fairmont Princess Hotel, which was attended by around 250 members and guests, including Premier Ewart Brown and numerous Government ministers and officials.

The audience heard that the chamber’s Destination Dockyard project, which made a $6,029 loss in 2005, had moved into a profitable position with a $5,461 return, but that piece of good news was cancelled out by a $10,531 loss made by the Harbour Nights promotion last year.

A stony silence greeted the presentation of the figures by treasurer Sarah Farrington, who rounded off by asking members to step forward with cash assistance, echoing an earlier plea by Mr. Everson.

She revealed the chamber’s total assets had decreased from $526,661 to $400,828 year-on-year and the Buy Bermuda campaign operated at a $23,479 loss in 2006 because of a reluctance by some members to offer financial support.

She said the Harbour Nights loss was due to increased entertainment costs and said sponsors were being asked to provide more money to put it back on track.

“It is critical the chamber focuses this year on coming up with additional sources of revenue, in terms of one-off donations from people as well as ongoing sources of revenue that will allow the chamber to be self-sufficient in years to come,” she said.

“In addition to our request to the Department of Tourism for additional funds the chamber is also undertaking the following activities; we have initiated a targeted fund-raising campaign, we are in discussions with event organisers with a view to raising sponsorship levels generally and we are constituting a committee to look at fundraising events and new ongoing sources of revenue.

“Finally, if these fail we will go out to the general membership.”

President Mr. Everson said: “It’s not a situation in which any of us are happy. At the end of the calendar year the Chamber was insolvent.”

He and new president Philip Barnett, who officially takes over today, told the Royal Gazette <$>they were confident the chamber would return to a surplus position during the year.

Mr. Everson said a further financial challenge the Chamber had faced revolved around the sales of ferry and bus tokens to visitors that made a surplus in 2005 but that had not been the case in 2006.

He expects Chamber members to rally around, as they have in difficult years in the past, to bring the Chamber out of its financial woes.

“Typically, if we have an undershoot, our small buffer (of capital) disappears. So we are now going to say ‘look, we are doing more work and it is costing more money’,” he said.

Mr. Barnett said it was important to remember the chamber is a not-for-profit organisation and had never been flush with cash.

“The money that we get goes right back out for events to make businesses succeed,” he added.

Kristi Grayston, co-chair of the chamber’s retail division, said the $23,479 shortfall in the Buy Bermuda Campaign would be made up in 2007.