Tourism Board boss awarded contract to run visitor centre from his coffee shop
The St. George’s office — which pulls in thousands of visitors each year — has now been relocated to a coffee shop owned by businessman and former Mayor E. Michael Jones.
Mr. Jones, who was appointed chairman of the Tourism Board by Premier Ewart Brown in January, was selected to run the popular service after Government announced it was looking to revamp the existing Visitor Service Bureaus in an effort to have “a positive impact on the visitor experience”.
The Premier endorsed Mr. Jones’ candidacy when he ran for the office of Mayor last year and the pair also worked in partnership when trying to secure a development deal for the former Club Med resort.
And this week it was reported that Mr. Jones intends to stand as a PLP candidate in one of two Parliamentary seats in the town at the next General Election.
Yesterday, Mr. Jones denied that his contacts with the Premier had helped him win the contract to take over the visitor advice centre, saying that Government had invited tenders from anyone interested in the opportunity.
But he did concede that his businesses — he also runs a liquor store next door to his coffee shop — could be bolstered by tourists thirsty for information about the island’s attractions.
He also acknowledged that he will receive a Government grant to fund the service, although he declined to reveal how much money the taxpayer will have to shell out, adding that there was plenty of room within the coffee shop to deal with the thousands of visitors expected to flood through his doors.
“I’d like to think that we’ll be able to sell more coffee,” he said.
“One of the things Government has said it was interested in doing was improving the visitor experience. When you went to the old centre you would go in, pick up your brochures, ask some questions, but then have to go back outside to read those brochures — there wasn’t even anywhere for people to sit down.
“But this is all about offering a better experience for the visitor. They can now come in, get information, but also sit down, maybe have a cup of coffee or some lunch or go on the Internet. They now have more opportunity and choice.”
Mr. Jones added that he had taken on additional staff to cope with the anticipated increase in business, although none of the staff of the former bureau is currently working for him.
Yesterday, St. George’s Mayor Mariea Caisey declined to speculate on how Mr. Jones won the contract.
But she did express regret that the old centre — which the Chamber of Commerce rented from the Corporation of St. George’s — had been forced to shut down.
“It really was very well used,” Ms Caisey said.
“We could get anything from between 1,500 and 2,000 visitors in the town at any one time and it proved very popular. Visitors could leave their luggage there, buy tickets or even find a hotel from there.
“Already we have had visitors coming into the town square looking for the Visitor Service Bureau and they haven’t been able to find it —because it’s not there any more.”
The Chamber of Commerce also operated similar centres in Hamilton and Dockyard which also shut down at the end of last month. It is not known if contracts have been awarded to private operators to run those centres.
Chamber of Commerce executive vice- president Diane Gordon said:<\p>“The executive board of the Chamber of Commerce decided, after lengthy debate and with considerable regret, that the Chamber should not respond to the Request for Proposal to operate a visitors’ information centre in 2007.
“It is a sad day for the Visitor Service Bureau offices, which were initiated by the Chamber of Commerce in support of the tourism industry, and have served visitors to Bermuda for the past 80 years.
“These ladies and gentlemen have represented Bermuda well over the many years and truly are the heroes of the Industry.
“The Department of Tourism has an alternate vision for the provision of visitors’ information and as one door closes, another opens.”
