Tourism industry players know exactly what they want from our next leaders.The business and retail community wants new hotel investment and it wants regular cruise ships in Hamilton and St George’s. Hoteliers want sharper marketing and gaming.“(We) need to move from talking about hotels breaking ground to hotel developments actually breaking ground and being built,” said Ronnie Viera, president of the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce.“This means that Government must get out of the way. The Tourism plan is a good one however if it is successful as we all want it to be, we will not have the beds to accommodate people.“Finding a high end cruise ship for Hamilton and St George's is critical. Businesses in both towns benefit greatly when the ship is docked in the respective harbours.“The Chamber has a representative on the Tourism Board which we are pleased about. However, I believe there is still more work to be done to build cohesiveness between the new Board, new Tourism Development Corporation and the Ministry.”Hoteliers we spoke to had concerns about the Tourism Board and also gaming and taxes.One said he wanted “the full implementation of a tourism authority which gets any Government and any minister out of the running of the industry. An entity that transcends politics and has the private sector, working with some representation from the public sector, to drive a turnaround in tourism. The focus would be a market driven and results oriented organisation which will lead the industry, not follow.”Another hotelier said concessions and tax breaks were badly needed, and gaming, not so much as a game-changer, but to boost the industry overall.The Hotel Tax could be dropped, the hotelier suggested, and in return hotels would pledge to invest the money saved on upgrades and products that enhance the guest experience at their properties.Fairmont Hamilton Princess General Manager Len Czarnecki has said he is pushing to ensure Bermuda keeps up with its competitors and that includes having gaming “on the table”. Currently though he is focused on a $50 million renovation of the hotel with its new owners the Green family, which will include a new marina and major upgrades to the hotel.Small business owners in Hamilton and St George’s want more tourists in general of course, but they also want regular calling cruise ships to come their way not just Dockyard’s.“(The) fundamental change in tourist shopping in Hamilton is because the regular contract ships in Dockyard are now actively promoting Dockyard as a shopping destination, which takes away from shopping in Hamilton, partly due because the ships wish to protect their own reputation by not aggressively promoting transportation in the summer season,” said one leading retailer. “Small Hamilton retailers who cater to the tourist market and who can reduce their winter costs will survive. The obvious solution is to berth weekly contract ships in Hamilton or encourage ships to anchor in the Great Sound and use their own tender service to help the summer shopping season in Hamilton.”Another retailer, Randy Stafford, who owns Common Ground Cafe in Hamilton said: “The cruise ship policy of avoiding Hamilton has hit my company, and Front Street. All the buzz is on Reid Street now.”He said he had noted some Front Street tourist oriented retailers were starting to close up shop. Mr Stafford said the experience in Bermuda outside of the beaches also needed to be improved, ie better nightlife.The St George’s business community wants ground broken on a new resort there, with a new hotel operator they have reason to trust.“I think with a proper hotel we’ll have construction jobs and increased investment in St George’s during the building phase and then both hospitality jobs and visitors once it is complete,” said the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce’s East End Divisional Chair Cheryl Hayward.On the continued lack of a cruise ship, she said, “Increased ferry service is a short-term fix. Modifications or new pier for cruise ship means tens of millions investment ... which doesn’t make sense unless accompanied by a proper 10 to 20-year cruise ship plan.”