Tourism Minister Visits Small Vacation Properties

Minister of Tourism and Transport Zane DeSilva visited Royal Palms Hotel and Restaurant as part of a walk-about tour of some of Bermuda’s tourism accommodations inventory.

Minister DeSilva said, “I deem it very important to let our hoteliers, their General Managers and their staff know that the Bermuda Government and I as Minister, value the contributions that they make to our economy.”

“I have been greeted warmly and engaged in frank discussions regarding the operations of our hotels, the quality of our tourism product, issues and possible solutions.”

[L-R] Carlos Durham, Rhonda Woods Smith, Minister DeSilva, Theresa Harney-Zuill

The Minister’s full remarks follow below:

I am delighted to be speaking to you today from the beautifully landscaped premises of the Royal Palms Hotel and Restaurant.

The Royal Palms is one of the 40 plus properties listed on our Tourism Accommodations Inventory as a small hotel. Standing beside me is Ms. Theresa Harney-Zuill, the General Manger.

Ms. Harney-Zuill, thank you for graciously providing us with the lovely venue from which to hold this press conference.

Ladies and gentlemen, as the Minister of Tourism, I have made a commitment to establish a working relationship with the owners of the tourism accommodations here in Bermuda.

I deem it very important to let our hoteliers, their General Managers and their staff know that the Bermuda Government and I as Minister, value the contributions that they make to our economy. After all, Tourism is still one of the main pillars of our economy!

To this end, on May 29th, I began my ‘walk-about’ of our many tourism accommodations including:

• Greenbank Guest House & Cottages, Paget
• Sandpiper Apartments, Warwick
• Fourways Inn, Paget
• Inverurie Executive Suites, Paget
• and Paraquet Guest Apartments, Paget

I was very graciously escorted around these properties by the owners and/or General Managers. In addition to familiarizing myself with the layout of the property, I also used this as an opportunity to hear first-hand what the issues are with respect to operating a hotel in Bermuda and how the Government could assist in resolving them.

Today, I visited Rosedon, Rosemont, Oxford House and Robin’s Nest, all located in Pembroke Parish, and along with my May 29th visit, I have been greeted warmly and engaged in frank discussions regarding the operations of our hotels, the quality of our tourism product, issues and possible solutions.

I must add that the persons who have elected to serve Bermuda as hoteliers, General Managers and staff are very cordial, hospitable and excellent ambassadors for our island and make me all the more proud to serve as the Minister of Tourism.

Ladies and gentlemen, the ‘Tourism Accommodation Inventory list includes the following categories:

• Large Resort Hotels
• Small Hotels
• Cottage Colonies
• Clubs
• Large Cottages, Suites and Apartments
• Small Cottages, Suites and Apartments
• Inns
• Bed and Breakfast
• Floatels [the Venetian]
• Vacation Rental Homes.

You will hear more from me in the near future, regarding the Vacation Rental Homes category, which was more recently added to the inventory.

As stated previously, it is my intent to visit our hotels, both large and small, and to form lasting relationships with these key tourism stakeholders.

Ladies and gentlemen in closing, I would like to reiterate my gratitude to the Royal Palms Hotel and Restaurant for hosting me today and to all who have welcomed me onto their hotel properties.

What has given me great pleasure during this period, is that several owners have said that I am the first Tourism Minister to visit their property. Let me assure all hotel and vacation rental owners in Bermuda that I will meet with them sooner or later.

I look forward to the next round of hotel walk abouts, but before I finish, I must thank the great team at the Tourism Regulation and Policy Unit, led by Rhonda Woods-Smith, including Hotel Inspectors, Carlos Durham and Aaran Swan, Administrative Assistant, Chanel Burchall, and summer student, Kristin Dill.

#BermudaTourism #HotelNews #ZaneDesilva

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