Column: Cannonier On Bermuda Tourism & More
[Opinion column written by Craig Cannonier]
The latest tourism figures released by the Bermuda Tourism Authority [BTA] offer some encouraging signs, and that is welcomed news for Bermuda. More visitors are coming to our shores, and the hotels, restaurants, taxi operators, tour operators and other businesses that have worked hard through some very difficult years deserve recognition. But while there may be incremental improvements, we must be honest about the bigger picture: Bermuda’s tourism industry is still falling short of where it needs to be, and one of the biggest obstacles to its recovery is a Government that has failed to move with the urgency required to get the Fairmont Southampton, known to generations of Bermudians as the Southampton Princess, reopened.
The numbers tell an important story. During the first nine months of 2019, Bermuda welcomed approximately 217,000 air visitors. For the same period in the latest reporting year, that number was just under 168,000. That represents nearly 50,000 fewer air visitors, a decline of almost 23%. While we should acknowledge that visitor numbers are improving incrementally, we are still nowhere near where we were in 2019. And we must remember that 2019 was hardly a banner year for Bermuda tourism. We were already trying to rebuild an industry that had experienced years of decline. Reaching 2019 levels should be the starting point for our recovery, not the finish line.
What makes this situation even more concerning is that other destinations, particularly throughout the Caribbean, have moved well beyond their pre-pandemic tourism numbers. They are reporting strong visitor growth, attracting new hotel developments and expanding their air services. They are moving forward while Bermuda is still struggling to regain ground that we had already lost. We should be asking ourselves why, in 2026, we are still having a conversation about simply getting back to where we were seven years ago.
There is another important distinction in the latest figures that deserves attention. Cruise passenger numbers have increased, and that is certainly welcome news for our taxi drivers, tour operators, retailers and restaurants that benefit from cruise visitors. However, a cruise passenger and an air visitor do not have the same economic impact on Bermuda. The Bermuda Tourism Authority’s own research found that in 2019, the average air visitor spent approximately $1,483 in Bermuda, compared with $225 for the average cruise passenger. In other words, the average air visitor spent more than six times as much. Air visitors generally stay for several nights, paying for accommodation, dining in our restaurants, using local transportation and supporting businesses throughout their stay. Cruise passengers make a valuable contribution, but increasing cruise arrivals cannot simply compensate for the loss of thousands of higher-spending air visitors. We cannot measure the success of our tourism industry simply by counting how many people arrive. We must also consider what they contribute to our economy.
We must also be careful when interpreting the reported improvements in hotel occupancy. Since 2019, Bermuda has lost the 593 rooms at the Fairmont Southampton, along with the 98 rooms at Elbow Beach. Together, these properties represented nearly 29% of our hotel-room inventory at the time. With significantly fewer rooms available, occupancy percentages can increase even when fewer rooms are actually being filled across the island. That does not take away from the efforts of our existing hotels, which are doing their best with the inventory available. But it does demonstrate why we must look beyond percentages and understand the real capacity of our tourism product.
And this brings us to what is arguably the most significant failure of this PLP Government when it comes to Bermuda’s tourism recovery: the continued inability to get the Fairmont Southampton reopened.
The resort has been closed since 2020. For more than six years, Bermuda’s largest resort has remained offline, depriving our economy of hundreds of rooms, hundreds of jobs and the significant visitor traffic that a 593-room flagship property can generate. What makes this particularly difficult to understand is the urgency that was demonstrated when the necessary legislation was brought before Parliament. In an extraordinary move, and one rarely seen in our Westminster parliamentary system, the Fairmont Southampton legislation was rushed through its first, second and third readings in a single day. Parliament moved swiftly because everyone understood the importance of getting this project moving and removing any legislative obstacles that could prevent the resort from reopening.
There was a clear recognition then that time was of the essence. The Government received the legislative support it needed, millions of dollars in concessions were committed, and Bermudians were repeatedly given assurances that the project would move forward. Yet here we are in 2026, with the reopening pushed back yet again to 2027. The urgency that Parliament demonstrated has simply not been matched by the Government’s ability to ensure that the project is completed in a timely manner.
This is not simply a matter of a delayed hotel development. It is a matter of lost tourism capacity, lost employment opportunities, lost visitor spending and lost economic activity. Had the Fairmont Southampton reopened on schedule, those nearly 600 rooms would already be contributing to our air arrival numbers, supporting our local businesses and helping to strengthen Bermuda’s tourism economy. Instead, we continue to debate why our visitor numbers are below where they should be, while one of the most important assets in our tourism industry remains closed.
The contrast with the record of the One Bermuda Alliance is also worth considering. When the OBA took office in December 2012, it demonstrated that major hotel developments could move from years of discussion and promises to tangible progress. Within four and a half years in government, the OBA brought The Loren at Pink Beach, Bermuda’s first new-build resort in 45 years, from the ground up to opening in 2017. It also broke ground on the St. Regis Bermuda Resort in St. George’s, finally putting that long-promised development on the path to becoming a reality. Two significant hotel developments were advanced in one term of government.
By comparison, this PLP Government, after multiple terms in office, has still not managed to get the Fairmont Southampton reopened. That is a troubling contrast. It raises legitimate questions about the Government’s ability to execute major projects and deliver on commitments that are critical to Bermuda’s economic future. We cannot continue to accept announcements, assurances and revised timelines as substitutes for actual results.
The same scrutiny must also be applied to visitor spending. We are being told that air visitors are spending more money than they did in 2019, but we must remember that the cost of almost everything has increased over those seven years. When inflation is taken into account, the apparent increase in visitor spending looks very different. Using Bermuda’s general inflation figures as a guide suggests that the real value of visitor spending may still be below 2019 levels. Higher dollar figures do not necessarily mean that our tourism industry is generating more real economic activity.
Ultimately, we must ask ourselves what these numbers mean for Bermudians. Are we creating more jobs? Are our hotels, restaurants and tourism businesses growing? Are we attracting new investment and providing young Bermudians with opportunities to build meaningful careers in the tourism industry? These are the measures that matter. The BTA is working on initiatives to improve Bermuda’s tourism performance, and there are undoubtedly other opportunities and solutions that must be pursued. We should support those efforts. But no amount of marketing, promotion or incremental improvement can fully compensate for the absence of a major hotel property that should already be welcoming visitors.
The fundamental problem is that Government is holding up progress by failing to move with the urgency necessary to get the Fairmont Southampton back up and running. This is one of the biggest pieces of the tourism recovery puzzle, and it is a piece that Government has had a direct responsibility to help deliver. We cannot continue to talk about growing air arrivals, increasing visitor spending and competing with other Caribbean destinations while nearly 600 hotel rooms remain out of service and the reopening date continues to move further into the future.
Bermuda has an exceptional tourism product. We have beautiful beaches, a rich history, a unique culture and, most importantly, people who know how to make visitors feel welcome. But potential alone does not build a tourism economy. It takes investment, execution and the ability to deliver on commitments. The OBA demonstrated within four and a half years that it could advance two major hotel developments. After term upon term in office, this PLP Government has still not delivered the reopening of the Fairmont Southampton. That is not simply a missed deadline. It is a missed opportunity for Bermuda, for our tourism industry and for the Bermudians whose livelihoods depend on its success.
Bermuda deserves better than another revised opening date. It deserves a Government that understands that tourism recovery requires action, not simply assurances, and that recognises the cost of every additional year that our largest resort remains closed.
- Craig Cannonier, Shadow Transport Minister
