Premier Ewart Brown is calling on the Island’s youth to consider the many opportunities within the hospitality industry.

“Tourism is turning around,” he said on Friday as hundreds of middle and secondary school students gathered at BAA field for the opening of the second annual National Youth Tourism Day.

Working in the industry is not limited to “lifting trays” and cleaning hotel rooms, but a multitude of career opportunities such as general managers, lawyers and other top-level positions, Dr. Brown said. “You should know that there is not one hotel room available in Bermuda right now — they’re all booked up,” he announced.

“What happens when the hotels are full? People have jobs, people who are entertainers get an opportunity to work, as well as hotel engineers and accountants. “But, we cannot keep turning people away and we can’t keep saying ‘I know you want to come to Bermuda, but we don’t have any beds’.

“It makes sense to build more hotels. Over the next five years there will be no fewer than five new hotels in this country.

“And, if you want to see Bermudians, running and working in those hotels, you have to prepare yourself now. “Hotels need lawyers, accountants, doctors, nurses, engineers and everybody from the back door to the top an bottom of every hotel. When people come to see our beautiful country, they would like to see Bermudians.”

Dr. Brown warned how important it is for every Bermudian to help make tourism thrive again, as it only takes an act of legislation in the US to change the mainstay of the Island’s economy.

The initiative was spearheaded by the Department of Tourism, in co-operation with the Ministry of Education.