Government has dropped plans to recruit a US public relations firm to counter so-called "destructive" media coverage at home — after an expert declared the publicity was doing no harm to Bermuda's reputation abroad.

The news comes as it was revealed that the Department of Tourism is already paying almost $450,000-a-year to a New York PR agency to promote the Island as a top holiday destination,

Corbin & Associates was awarded the three-year contract, which sees it pick up $36,000-a-month from Bermuda's taxpayers, last year. In 2005, US marketing company Global Hue — the company behind the Feel the Love campaign — secured a $13.2 million contract as the Tourism Department's principal advertising agency.

Statistics released earlier this month for the second quarter of 2008 showed air arrivals in Bermuda were the lowest since 1980 and visitor spending was down $18 million. It was the fifth consecutive quarter to see a decline in resort hotel occupancy.

Premier Ewart Brown said in May in the House of Assembly that the search was on for a "top public relations agency" to counteract the "destructive imagery promoted by the Opposition and its assembled media forces".

But Glenn Jones, Dr. Brown's press secretary, told The Royal Gazette this week the hunt was off. "Government was shopping for a US public relations firm to protect Bermuda's high-standing reputation in the United States," he said.

"However, the search was called off because an overseas expert concluded lopsidedly negative daily print and web reporting in the home market was not having a harmful impact on Bermuda's reputation overseas in any permanent way. Therefore the search for a US PR firm was concluded."

Opposition leader and Shadow Tourism Minister Kim Swan said the expert's conclusion was "tantamount to a reality check for the Premier".

"Last May we branded as 'beneath contempt' Dr. Brown's statement that the Opposition was the cause of Bermuda's sagging reputation abroad," said Mr. Swan. "To us, it was one more example of his willingness to go to any length to twist reality, distort facts and shift blame from the issues of the day. Our view has not changed."

He added: "The decision to cancel this absurd initiative is a sign that good sense can sometimes prevail and so we applaud Cabinet Office for it."

Mr. Swan said the Opposition played no role in any negative developments damaging Bermuda's reputation abroad — such as the Bermuda Housing Corporation scandal or the "takeover" of Bermuda Cement Company — apart from bringing them to the public's attention.

Corbin & Associates was signed up by the Department of Tourism during 2007. An announcement in the trade press last October reported that the firm had been named the "agency of record" for the Bermuda Department of Tourism.

Sean-Patrick M. Hillman, vice president of Corbin & Associates, was quoted as saying: "We began work on this account a few months ago and the results are already showing.

"Tourism is up from all of our gateway markets."

Mr. Jones said this week that a report in this newspaper last February which referred to Corbin & Associates as "Bermuda's PR agency" was misleading.

"Instead, they are tasked with publicising Bermuda as a Premier travel destination under the direction of the Bermuda Department of Tourism (BDOT)," he said. "Corbin has a three-year contract which began in 2007. BDOT pays a fee to Corbin of $36,000 per month for its public relations services."

Mr. Jones did not answer questions yesterday about whether the contract awarded to Corbin & Associates was put out to tender, whether the Premier thought it represented value for money or whether Global Hue still had a contract.