BDOT Clarifies: Tourism Board Members
The Bermuda Department of Tourism [BDOT] provided clarification regarding the Bermuda Tourism Board.
Two weeks ago veteran entertainer Tony Brannon was dismissed from the Board, and he later said “The Tourism Board has written not one line of code on their plan. So in 6 months we’ve done nothing but talk, eat cakes, and have coffee.”
In addition, Quinton Bean stepped down from the Board due to “work commitments,” and Jonathan Crellin stepped down as he will be leaving the Fairmont Hamilton Princess as General Manager and subsequently the Island. Leopold Kuchler and Kirk Kitson have recently been appointed to the Board.
The BDOT also confirmed that Board member Anthony Santucci has taken “personal leave.” Mr Santucci, who recently lost his job at Grotto Bay, has also taken a leave of absence from his position as Progressive Labour Party Chairman
There are 14 membership positions and at present there is one vacancy, and a replacement for the most recent former Board member has yet to be appointed, said the BDOT. The original Board members were named in December 2010.
Minister of Business Development and Tourism Patrice Minors said, “I am pleased to confirm that we have appointed two new members to the Tourism Board, following the departures of Mr. Quinton Bean, who stepped down due to work commitments, and Mr. Jonathan Crellin, who will be leaving the Fairmont Hamilton Princess as General Manager and subsequently the Island.”
“Both gentlemen have been replaced by well known businessmen Mr. Leopold Kuchler and Mr. Kirk Kitson respectively. I am grateful for the service of Mr. Bean and Mr. Crellin, and I am thrilled to welcome both Mr. Kuchler and Mr. Kitson to the Board. I am confident that the Board’s focus will not be distracted by these changes and that it will continue to forge ahead.”
Mr. Kitson, who is also the owner the Rosedon Hotel, offered comments on his appointment to the Tourism Board, saying, “As many know I have been involved in tourism in Bermuda all my life and have served as president of Rosedon Hotel for the last 30 years. It is therefore an honour and a pleasure to be asked to join the Tourism Board under the Chairmanship of Malcolm Butterfield and Vice Chair Vince Ingham, and to assist in the development of a tourism plan for Bermuda which is so urgently needed.”
The present members of the Bermuda Tourism Board are: Malcolm Butterfield – Chairman, Vince Ingham – Deputy Chairman, Randolph Horton, Wendell ‘Shine’ Hayward, Michelle Cox, Kelly Francis, Isabelle Brackstone, Sallie Singleton, Maxwell Burgess, Brian Dupperault, Kirk Kitson, Leopold Kuchler. Anthony Santucci is still listed a member, although he is on “personal leave.”
The BDOT has given there clarification on the Tourism Board but my question is to what have Michelle Cox, Sally Singleton, Isabelle Brackstone, Kelly Francis, Randolph Horton and Maxwell Burgess been involved in the Tourism Industry.
Many of these names are familiar and is it due to the fact of who you know in Government that can get you appointed to a board. What jobs have they held in the industry if any. Give us these folks credentials.
People of BDA we need a Tourism board that is going to work at getting tourist to this island. We need hotels owners like David Dodwell to sit on this board to give some serious indication on what is good for BDA.
Keep pushing OBA and people of BDA for a more functional tourism board.
Wake up BDA and Government we will never get back to the good old days of the 80s.
Kelly Francis is a seasoned HR professional who runs her own HR consultancy firm. She knows the challenges of training and hiring across all of our sectors and is an ideal fit because she is not caught up in the political fray.
You do not have to have worked in tourism necessarily to know what can work for Bermuda. But you do have to be learned, travelled and able to understand the industry, changes in demography, economics etc to understand not necessarily where we have come from, but where we are going. Brannon has a lot of value but must recognize that today’s tourists dont want the jolly roger or limbo contests like they used to. Duppereault sits on this board as well and no one can argue that because he has not worked directly in tourism that he is not qualified to run Bermuda Inc. Gimme a break!
Selina you know not what you speak.
Many of the people you put on blast have served and contributed to tourism in Bermuda over many decades. The tourism board is not a paid position, they give their time and expertise freely.
A few examples of your lack of knowledge:
-Randy Horton is extremely experienced and well respected in Bermuda and has been involved in Tourism and the government department of tourism for decades.
-Maxwell Burgess was a former MP and was involved in Government policy making. He brings a wealth of knowledge to the table.
-Isabelle Brackstone turned around the perfume factory and made it extremely popular with tourists. It is a good example of a successful tourism business in Bermuda. Plus she is great at marketing, deals with tourists every day and knows St. George’s inside and out.
-Brian Dupperault, former chairman and CEO of ACE insurance and now running another big insurance company. The man has run multiple successful multi-billion dollar companies. How many Bermudians has he employed over the years! How many more have benefited from him and his businesses! He knows business and he is exactly the kind of person needed on the tourism board.
-Sally Singleton has worked for British Airways for many years. Have you ever flown that route on a Friday from London to Bermuda? Those flights are jam packed. The number of travelers that that airline brings to the island every week of every year! Its clearly a very successfully run airline route which benefits Bermuda to no end.
So clearly there are some companies involved in tourism who are still making money and providing valuable services to the island, even in this poor economic environment .
You cannot logically argue that these successful people are irrelevant or don’t know what they are doing because they are the life blood and the life lines of this island.
These are a few of the good people on the tourism board but there are also other experienced and dedicated Bermudians on the board working very hard for the island and lets not forget it isn’t a paid position. And before you attack me I don’t work in tourism or for the government.
So put away your knives people and lets all work together to support tourism in Bermuda and get it moving forward.
Thank you. This is some of the clarification that I’m looking for but didn’t see when GOV. put out information to public. I like to know where people come from and how they can help.
Randolph Horton worked in the Dept of Tourism for multiple years. However regarding the other members, you dont have to necesarily have been involved in tourism directly to have a vision for it and the sense to see it through.
I do note that David Dodwell was Minister of Tourism before and I don’t necesarily see anything substantial that was accomplished under his watch.
He does have two successful hotels though, that’s enough for me
Randy Horton is lazy that why Dr Brown fired him..
Also he won the 2010 Caribbean Hotelier of the Year
I know Sally Singleton has been involved with British Airwarys for eons and her husband has been the tennis pro at coral beach for just as long. I think she has a solid insight into the industry but i’m not sure abou the others.
Thats a laugh Hooray. He did more for Tourism than Ewart Brown ever did. He was involved and not running around the world to China, India, Africa et al. Check with Immigration/Customs and see the Chineese, Indians, Africans that throng to our shores. Lavish functions that did zero for tourism.
I need a rum.
What has the Tourism Board accomplished in months? What did the retreat accomplish? Am I the only person that feels there is something wrong this board?
Tourism was at its peak when college students used to come here. Now the focus has been on rich people.
No wonder Tourism is in the state it’s in.
I say we wipe our hands clean of trying to improve Tourism and focus on improving Bermudians. Tourist come here and see a bunch of non-Bermudians anyway that can hardly speak English, smfh!
Two things – I just spent half an hour trying to get through to Elbow Beach to make a reservation, there is no one available to take my call on either the front desk or reservations. It is 4pm on a Wednesday. Where else in the world would this happen ?
Secondly I went up to St George’s 2 mondays ago for the Heroes Day holiday. The place was packed with tourists and locals looking to spend money, but nothing was open. The following day, a nothing tuesday, I’m sure St Georges opened its doors for the usual trickle of people and moans from shopkeepers on how St Georges is dying and how terrible it is.
Elbow Beach and St Georges – you only get what you put in my friends.
You are correct St George has complained for years but always want somone else to put the work in I know I live and used to work there. I also wish the new board well its too costly in Bermuda and tourist can get more for their money at cheaper destinations
The great of era of Tourism back in the 1970s and 1980s has gone! SO today when one evaluates tourism, one cannot make the same comparison. Times have changed, and as the world and the economy changes so will jobs, and almost everything else world-wide. So please do not have the same expectations for Tourism as it existed in the 1970s and 1980s and part of the early 1990s era of Tourism today.
Tourism today is much different. There is much more competition out there. Person’s today travel for various reasons. Tourism back in the day, died under Uncle Jim’s era and leadership. But, we can however do our best to re-model tourism. It is not an easy task! I think the government is trying its best under the current climate. Members of the current board are persons that can make a value contribution due to their educational and life experiences. It is also likely that someday ‘International Business’ will also change, as we live a world that is constantly changing and evolving.
It would be great if we can only review information, instead of jumping to blast persons for the sake of blasting….