Frith's Liquors and Burrows Lightbourn blamed a slump in tourist numbers and the establishment of duty free shopping at the airport for the closure of their joint Front Street liquor store, FBL.

FBL was set up by the companies in 1999 to try to push duty free liquor sales to tourists, but it has been hit hard by the disastrous tourist season and closed on Saturday.

Frith's Liquors announced yesterday that it will continue to import wines and spirits and is looking to open a smaller retail liquor store on the Front Street premises used by FBL.

Frith's Liquors managing director William Frith said the company is hoping to subdivide the Front Street store and rent it out to another company.

He told The Royal Gazette that duty free sales have slumped due to a slide in tourism numbers and since Gosling's opened a duty free shop at the airport in 1999.

"Management of both companies felt that by joining together they would be best able to contend with the decline in business on Front Street, caused firstly by the advent of duty free shopping at the airport, and secondly by the continuing demise of our tourism industry," he said.

"Unfortunately, the business was not successful and management does not see any likelihood of the situation improving in the near future, hence the decision to close."

Mr. Frith added: "Quite frankly there was nothing we could do. The liquor business is a more international business now where you can buy anything anywhere and the price differential on most products is not as worthwhile as it used to be.

"A lot of people don't really want to carry additional baggage when they leave Bermuda. Tourism numbers have declined so much that it made it that much worse. The good side was that over the counter sales of beer and wine for local consumption were good, but we needed that duty free sale to make a big store like that work, and it didn't."

He concluded: "This year was a terrible year for duty free sales in Bermuda. We are negotiating with several parties on reopening a liquor store on the same site, but subdividing it and renting some of the space."

Mr. Frith said the three staff employed at FBL with be offered jobs with the two parent companies or given redundancy compensation.