Kevin Dallas has branded 2017 a “critical year” for Bermuda’s tourism industry as he looks to build on 11 months of consecutive growth in the sector.

The new CEO of the Bermuda Tourism Authority pinpointed the successful delivery of the America’s Cup event as key to ensuring the island takes advantage of the legacy opportunities stemming from the sailing spectacle in 2018 and beyond.

He also called for the BTA’s budget, which was $22.45 million in 2016, to be more directly linked to visitor arrivals and spending.

Mr Dallas told The Royal Gazette: “We can’t take our foot off the pedal now that we’re growing again; continuous investment in tourism is needed to maintain our momentum.

“We would also like to see the BTA budget more directly linked to results — which means visitor arrivals and visitor spending. That way, as tourism numbers and receipts grows, we automatically have more to reinvest in tourism and the visitor experience.

“I hope the Government budget will recognise the opportunity and necessity of sustained investment in tourism and work with us to spread the cost fairly among the beneficiaries and our visitors.”

He added: “The challenge is to maintain that momentum and prove it is not just a one-off bounce back, but a sustained recovery.

“We still need more hotel rooms and we need sustainable growth to promote investor confidence. If we were to wobble now, we would lose a lot of the positive energy that has been created over the last year.”

Mr Dallas welcomed the upcoming opening of the new Loren at Pink Beach Hotel as well as ongoing development of the Caroline Bay Ritz Carlton Reserve at Morgan’s Point, and he maintained he was “cautiously optimistic” of progress on the St Regis Hotel in St George’s.

“The biggest threat to our current growth would be to disappoint on our delivery of the America’s Cup,” Mr Dallas said. “People have put a lot of emphasis on the “in-year” benefits of the event.

“That is hugely important, but much more important is the exposure it can provide; it will put us in millions of living rooms and show organisers we have the venue to host these kind of events.

“But the America’s Cup has to go well for the legacy benefits to come in the following years. I’m confident we can handle it but we need to be properly prepared.”

November marked the 11th month of consecutive growth in the tourism industry with an additional 3,600 air visitors, compared to November 2015. Air arrivals for the year-to-date were also up 16 per cent, or 21,800, compared to the first 11 months of 2015.

Mr Dallas said: “I wanted to hit the ground running and have hopefully ticked that box. My second personal goal is to really experience as much of the Bermuda tourism product as possible; I want to visit everywhere and ask to see their best room and their worst room to get the best idea of what we are offering our visitors.

“The transition has been smooth, I’ve spent a lot of time with the team in Bermuda and the US as well as meeting with stakeholders on the island. Everyone is excited about what we have achieved and by how the indicators look for 2017.”