“Transformative New Chapter” For BTA
The Board of Directors of the Bermuda Tourism Authority today announced the “conclusion of its internal investigation and the beginning of a transformative new chapter for the organisation.”
A spokesperson said, “The Board of Directors of the Bermuda Tourism Authority today announced the conclusion of its internal investigation and the beginning of a transformative new chapter for the organisation.
“This marks a critical milestone following the release of the BTA’s Culture Review earlier this year and the subsequent independent HR audit. The Board has now completed its review and met for a full-day strategy session earlier this month to chart a bold and forward-looking course for the Authority.
“Strategic Reset and Organisational Renewal: During the session, the Board engaged in frank and constructive discussions around the future direction of the BTA. There was strong consensus around the need for structural realignment to ensure the Authority is best positioned to deliver on its core mandate — promoting Bermuda as a world-class tourism destination.
“Key outcomes included:
- A commitment to realign the organisational structure to strengthen two key areas: Sales, Marketing and Business Development and People & Culture, to reflect strategic priorities and ensure delivery excellence.
- The commencement of a comprehensive internal review of performance management and compensation structures, culminating in a revised Staff Incentive Philosophy set to launch ahead of the next fiscal year.
“Next Steps: Leadership Recruitment: As part of the organisation’s renewal:
- The search for a new Chief Executive Officer will begin imminently. This global search will consider both Bermudian and international candidates, with the opportunity first being shared internally before advertisements appear in local and international media.
- Recruitment for a Chief Sales & Marketing Officer will also be launched shortly, using the same process.
“Looking Forward: The BTA has unveiled a series of strategic initiatives aimed at strengthening the island’s tourism sector. As part of its renewed leadership role, the BTA is now spearheading air service development to improve connectivity and drive increased visitation, aligning with the reopening of the Fairmont Southampton in the first half of 2026.
“Reaffirming its commitment to collaboration, the BTA has also sought to strengthen its ties with local partners across the industry. The Authority has also announced the first industry Partner Summit in over five years, scheduled for October this year. The event will convene key overseas wholesale and tour operator partners, online travel agents, and trade stakeholders.
“This marks a new era of alignment and partnership for Bermuda’s tourism future, underlining the BTA’s proactive approach to destination strategy and growth with all of its key partners.”
Acting Chair William Griffith said, “This moment represents not an end, but a reset. We have confronted difficult truths and taken clear action. Our focus now is on moving forward, strengthening the efficiency of the organisation, and delivering results for Bermuda. The BTA Board remains committed to transparency, the work continues, and we are optimistic about what lies ahead.”
Translation:” Same old, same old. Dissolve the BTA.
If the Govt only left them to perform but they can’tleave independent leaders alone. If the next ceo is not a Bermudian we will see more cracks in the plp and they will be bowled out next election. If they believed in Bermudians they would still be there shining and doing a good job.
THE old tourism department wasted a lot of money on projects that had nothing to do with tourism. But setting up a quango with even less oversight than the department had was not the solution.
The main issue is that Bermuda’s tourism promotion budget is much higher than other comparable islands. This is paid for mainly by taxing tourists who come here, which is counterproductive since the cost of vacationing in Bermuda is the main thing keeping them away. It’s great for potential tourists to see an ad for a Bermuda holiday, but if you can’t find a hotel within their budget then that ad accomplishes nothing.
It would be better to slash the Hotel Occupancy tax, and then more tourists would show up without Bermuda having to spend money on promotion.
Chris, the cost of tourism in Bermuda has little to do with Hotel Occupancy Tax. We priced ourselves out of the leisure tourism market in the 1980s.
I agree that the old Department of Tourism was sometimes used as a political tool (by both political parties going back to UBP days). The whole point of the BTA was to prevent that from being repeated. But the PLP Government would not fund an independent quango and so changed the law to have political control over the BTA. And look how that has turned out.
“We priced ourselves out of the leisure tourism market in the 1980s. ”
hmm , and what was it that coincidentally happened in the (early) 80s ?
The premier at the time wisely said that Bermuda cannot afford this . And he was right . Now very few can afford us .
One can name any number of factors that took place in the late 1970s and early 1980s that contributed to our current circumstances. Double-digit inflation. Wild cat strikes and the drop of a hat. Lack of will of some businesses to stand up to the unions.
The fact of the matter is that the cost of a Bermuda vacation rose faster than price inflation through the 1980s and by the time the 1990s were here we were considerably more expensive that competitor markets to our south. That is why Bermuda’s economy moved from 90% tourism and 10% IB to 90% IB and 10% tourism in a decade.
Telling tourists they’re lucky to be here isn’t doing anyone any favors either.
That was 40-50 years ago — ancient history that has nothing to do with today’s tourism market. In the meantime, flights have become much, much more affordable, opening up beach vacations for Americans to third world countries like Dominican, Jamaica and Costa Rica. Those places pay their hotel workers $2-$3 a day. They are much bigger than Bermuda so land prices are much lower – in fact Dominican gives free land to hotel developers.
Bermuda can’t ever offer those rates, but it could do a lot more to offer cheaper vacations to tourists. It could bring the Hotel Occupancy Tax from 10% back down closer to the 0.5% it charged in the 1970s. It could allow more work permits for seasonal hotel employees so that labour costs for hotels isn’t some of the world’s highest, like it is now. It could waive customs duties for materials needed to renovate hotels.
“That was 40-50 years ago — ancient history that has nothing to do with today’s tourism market”
I disagree. The events of 40 to 50 years ago are what has shaped Bermuda’s tourism industry today. Bermuda used to have more than 12,000 hotel beds. That was in 1987. In 2013 Bermuda did not have even 4,000 hotel beds for the Island Games. And Southampton Princess open then.
What few beds Bermuda has available for tourists are very expensive for leisure tourism. As you say, prices to our south are much less. Bermuda prices today are for business tourism.
Reducing Hotel Occupancy Tax to 5% will not change much. It will be a drop in the bucket in relation to the cost of staying in Bermuda. The Bermuda government already routinely waives customs duty for hotel improvement or development.
As for more work permits, that is a political hot potato that you should take up with the PLP Government.