A showcase tourism event in Bermuda got off to a bad start when one of the most important tourism guests to visit the Island this year, along with around 60 fellow passengers, was left stranded without transport at Bermuda International Airport.

The president of the Caribbean Hotel Association, Berthia Parle MBE, was forced to wait for an hour at 11 p.m. on a Saturday night after her pre-arranged transport failed to show up.

To make matters worse the taxi rank at the arrivals terminal was empty because taxi drivers claim they were told there were no more passengers to be collected and headed off for Hamilton and other parts of the Island to cater for regular Saturday night business.

The Ministry of Tourism has pledged ?corrective measures? to ensure there is no repeat of the embarrassing incident.

On a cold night Mrs. Parle was one of the last to climb into a taxi and depart the airport shortly before midnight on April 1 having travelled all day to reach Bermuda for the three-day tenth Annual Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference.

She later relayed her experience to Tourism Minister Ewart Brown and was told he would see the matter was addressed and ?speak to the powers that be.?

The incident came to light following enquiries by into a warning last week by the Bermuda Hotel Association that there was a problem with taxis at the airport.

Dr. Brown, currently attending a meeting in South Africa, last week said he had information there had been difficulties.

Mrs. Parle confirmed the events and said she had been expecting to be collected by pre-arranged transport but that did not happen after the American Airlines flight from New York arrived around one-and-a-half hours late.

?A car had been ordered for me but it was not there and then we realised there were no taxis outside the airport either,? she said. ?We called the taxi dispatches and were told that it was a Saturday night and most of the taxis were in town.

?My transport was pre-booked and it shouldn?t have happened. At the end of the day there were at least 50 or 60 people waiting in line. Some were older people and it was cold. Eventually I took a regular taxi to the hotel. I was one of the last to leave.?

The CHA president had been travelling all day via Miami and New York before reaching Bermuda. She believes the taxi drivers should have been aware or informed that passengers would be coming in on the delayed flight.

?I spoke to Dr. Brown and he said he would address it with the powers that be. It is not something that should be a regular occurrence. There should be better coordination if there is a late flight coming in,? said Mrs. Parle.

?Something like this sends the wrong message to people coming in to the Island, especially if they have been travelling all day.?

Why the situation arose is a matter of dispute.

Michael Ray, of the Bermuda Taxi Association, said taxi drivers did not leave until they were told by the airport traffic officer that there were no more passengers in the arrivals hall who needed to hire a ride.

?It was not our fault. We need to find out who was responsible for picking up these people,? he said.

?The taxis were sent away to other jobs after being told by the traffic officer that the flight was complete. My understanding is that they were told Bermuda Hosts was doing the pick up.?

But a spokesman for Bermuda Hosts Ltd airport transportation company said it had not been asked to collect Mrs. Parle at the airport and he was trying to find out who it was.

He said: ?We had people to move for the conference who had called us up beforehand. We had nothing to do with the president. I do not know who was responsible for taking her from the airport.

?I?m not going into a war with the taxi drivers but Bermuda Hosts had nothing to do with moving the president. The Tourism Ministry should know who it was.?

Referring to the matter as an ?unfortunate incident? Ministry of Tourism and Transport permanent secretary Marc Telemaque, said:?The Ministry apologises to the President of the CHA and to any guest who experiences such an inconvenience. We are working hard to address this issue at the airport and the public can expect a series of corrective measures shortly.?

John Harvey, of the Bermuda Hotel Association, said his original concern about the taxi situation at the airport was not caused by a specific event, but was sparked by general delays reported by visitors.

He said he had heard that Mrs. Parle had been one of those affected, and added: ?It is the position of the BHA that all stakeholders with responsibility for Bermuda?s tourism must address the transportation challenges for 2006 so that what ever corrective action needs to be taken can be taken as soon as possible.?