The boy’s trip

Bermuda’s new tourism tv spot has been published on youtube.com.  Overall it’s a decent ad and certainly an improvement on the old use of a blender to hide lurid sexual references.  Can’t really say it is a wow ad though the visuals are a nice touch.  I think it has some appeal and will get people thinking about Bermuda, which is good.  Unfortunately however I don’t think it is highly memorable so we’re more likely to catch those thinking of a vacation now (ie the handful who aren’t panicking over the recession) rather than those who think of one later.  Also, the ending is rather odd as it makes Bermuda seem absolutely massive in comparison to its actual size.

Anyway, as usual I’m tempted to make my own rather meek attempt at pitching ad ideas, so here goes. 

Title

The boy’s trip: because you deserve some guy time.

Theme

Elderly gentlemen going on a boy’s trip to Bermuda for some golf, deep sea fishing, some fine cigars and an all around good time.  Part of the purpose is to poke fun at the boy’s trips that newly wed men go on to give that still young feeling to elderly gentlemen watching it.

Script

The scene opens with a number of elderly ladies sitting around a table knitting and chatting.  It pans out into another room where a football game has just gone to commercial and a group of elderly gentlemen are sitting around enjoying it with beers and a couple with cigars.

Gentleman A: ‘You know fellas, I think I’m getting to the point were I could use a little time away from the wife’

Gentleman B pipes in ‘It has been a while since we went on a boy’s trip’

Gentleman C: ‘How about Bermuda for a weekend?  A little golf, some fishing’  [slight pause]casually glancing at Gentleman A ‘freedom’ 

The group snickers at Gentleman A’s expense

Gentleman D: ‘Sounds like a plan’ [pause] raising his beer ‘to the boy’s trip’

They cheers

The scene now cuts to the gentlemen leaving for Bermuda.  Gentleman B is seen being kissed by his wife as he is getting in a cab.  ‘Have fun’ she tells him and as the car drives off she calls out ‘and don’t forget to take your vitamins!’

The scene cuts to Gentleman D where he’s packing his bag in the bedroom where his wife looks rather unpleased for not being included.  She suggests ‘I don’t understand why I can’t come’.  He replies ‘It’s a boy’s trip honey’

Next up gentleman C, at the door to his house ‘I’ll see you in a few days’, his wife, unconcerned, calling out from the living room ‘ok, have fun!’

Finally we cut to Gentleman A.  His wife has escorted him to the airport.  He meets up with the guys with her tightly in tow.  His wife suggest ‘don’t forget to call me before you take off and when you get there to let me know you made it ok.  Be sure to let me know how it’s going and check in if you have any problems and’ … 

Gentleman C butts in, putting his arm around gentleman A.  ‘Don’t worry, he’ll be fine’ he sooths.

Scene cuts to guys at airport cheersing over beers as they wait for their plane ‘to the boy’s trip’ they proclaim

Cut to scenes of guys hanging out, rolling around in golf carts, golfing, drinking, having cigars and having a great time.  Gentleman C prods he’s cart mate gentleman A, ‘come on… relax…  have a cigar’ [short pause] ‘they sell real cubans here” he claims excitedly

Cut to scenes of the guys out deep sea fishing catching a few fish

Cut to a scene of the guys sitting off at one of Bermuda’s great restaurants with a good view.  They cheers while Gentleman C claims ‘Boy’s it’s been a great trip, we need to do this more often’

Gentleman A pipes in ‘good thing Bermuda’s only two hours away’ a huge smile on his face

Cut to the same Bermudian in a striking Bermudian outfit that I proposed for the last ad who says:

‘The boy’s trip. Because you deserve some guy time.’

Cut to a Bermuda logo

BermudaTourism.com

Last night we covered the very disappointing tourism arrival numbers, today we get wind of the promising results of the Bermuda Tourism website, which is encouraging.

Statistics released for the website suggest an 81% year on year increase in visitors for the second quarter which hopefully is an indication of an improving recognition of Bermuda abroad.   The suggested page view total of 2.7 million for 301,000 visits is a good sign as this indicates an average of about 9 pages viewed per visitor which is quite a good rating for any website.  Of note however is that it is preferable if we could be provided statistics of how many of those visits and page views were from Bermudian IP addresses and how many were from foreign sources.  This should not be a difficult nor unreasonable statistic to attain and if the Bermuda Tourism website has truly been a success this should be a statistic they happily provide.

Quoted in the article is the “bounce rate” of the website which had a decline of 48.5%, though the actual rate was unfortunately not provided and we can hope it will be.  For the uninitiated the bounce rate refers to how many people only visited a single page before leaving the site.  The bounce rate of a site is usually used to measure the old marketing principle that it takes less than 3 seconds for someone to decide whether they’re interested in learning more and thus is a good indication of whether you’re adequately capturing your audience.

The new look of the site is actually quite appealing though it is hard not to frown at the load time for the flash animation.  While it is quite good in comparison to most sites this writer has always believed that the core of a website is getting people the information they want as fast as possible with the least possible amount of effort.  Flash is usually gimmicky and turns off those who come looking for answers, not gimmicks.  Overall though the load time is quick enough that the flash load time isn’t very noticeable which is a positive if we’re going to have flash.

The site succeeds in having a clean and elegant look that doesn’t overload the user with too much information or leave the page looking empty.  The photos chosen are quite good and very fitting for both the site and Bermuda.  The layout of the site is well done and the navigation is good, though it is a bit confusing when you click on headers like ‘Travel’ under the meetings section and aren’t taken anywhere.  Despite there being a dropdown the color change of the heading suggests it is meant to take you somewhere and yet it confusingly refreshes to the same page.  The spacing of some informational items seem a bit off, though nothing really worth fretting over.  Overall the information provided on the site seems quite good and comprehensive which is definitely what we’re aiming for.  Finally, bonus points are necessary for having contact details on every page, this is something that should be stressed for every website as no one should have to struggle to figure out how to get in touch with someone quickly.

While we may be very disappointed with the present tourism numbers we can hold out some hope that the tide may be turning and that the Tourism Department may well have charted a course in the right direction for the future.  Their focus on our core markets and recent advertising schemes are much more promising than some of those that have been undertaken in the past and we can hold out hope that things will continue to improve.  Hopefully the new website is just one small step in a large scope of positive things to come, for certainly Bermuda needs it.

Misled with tourism statistics?

Two great quotes and a great cartoon found by The Big Picture:

“The spring of 1930 marks the end of a period of grave concern…American business is steadily coming back to a normal level of prosperity.”
– Julius Barnes, head of Hoover’s National Business Survey Conference, March 16, 1930

“While the crash only took place six months ago, I am convinced we have now passed through the worst — and with continued unity of effort we shall rapidly recover. There has been no significant bank or industrial failure. That danger, too, is safely behind us.”
– Herbert Hoover, May 1, 1930

There are many market cheerleaders out there spinning recent poor economic data as less bad and the markets have happily followed along.  Hey, the economy is no longer crashing at a startling pace, that must be a sign of a recovery right?  We’ll certainly see…

In a breaking news piece on The Royal Gazette Premier Brown is quoted as suggesting that less bad tourism numbers are a good sign.

“Already, in just the first six months of 2009, we have seen a slowdown to the slowdown,” Dr. Brown said. “Visitor arrivals have improved pretty convincingly between the first quarter and the second quarter of this year. Visitor numbers were down 27.84 percent in the first quarter, but after the second quarter the 2009 year-to-date figure has improved to an 11.28 percent decrease when compared to the year prior.

“That is clearly a trend in the right direction. This trend is expected to improve even further in the third quarter.”

Well sure, it is really nice to say the 2009 Q2 figure has improved over the Q1 numbers while conveniently not mentioning that last year we also just happened to witness a near 12% drop in Q2 arrivals.  A question that arises is how spending performed as the hugely discounted promotions hotels have been offering to attract tourists likely boosted numbers while cut spending.  To be fair we should also be examining year over year performance for the last few years as opposed to just last year.

Let us put things into context.  Let’s take the very latest Caribbean Tourism Statistics (found via google as they’re not officially posted on their site yet) and normalize the gain and loss percentages of each country to 2003 levels (2003 = 100) so we can get an idea of how well we’ve performed.  For added interest we’ll even throw in Antigua & Barbuda statistics as they’ve already reported their full Q2 numbers.

Notice how Bermuda has vastly underperformed the average Caribbean destination?  Oh, but don’t worry about that, we’ve improved upon the Q1 decline, that must be a sign of a recovery, right? 

"Arrivals" breakdowns

A few months back I found myself incredibly dismayed by the release of visitor arrival statistics because of the lack of distinction between which visitors were here for business and which were here for pleasure. 

It was quite a surprise to open this morning's Royal Gazette to see that these statistics have now been released as they will enable me to paint a much more detailed picture of the state of our tourism industry.

Quite helpfully, the Ministry of Tourism has accepted my request for access to the original statistics so hopefully I'll be able to cover things more extensively.

There are many questions I hope to ask and provide some speculative answers:

• What factors are contributing to the decline in pleasure visitors?
  
• What factors are driving the increase in business visitors?
  
• How much is spent by pleasure visitors in comparison to business visitors?
  
• How has hotel room availability impacted the overall picture? 
  
• Are we witnessing a case where business and pleasure visitors are competing for accommodation?
  
• How will the continued weakening of the US economy affect our overall tourism picture and are we seeing a comparative rise in visitors from other jurisdictions?
  
• What likely impacts have discount airlines had?

Looking a gift horse in the mouth

Suddenly putting Southland's on hold is a confusing move by the government and developers.  Why the sudden consideration of a change in location?  What are the benefits of Morgan's point over Southland's?  What will happen to Southland's itself?  There are a great many unanswered questions.

Former Premier Alex Scott suggests:

"After the second hotel to the east of Southland's, (Grand Atlantic Resort and Residences), was given the SDO, my constituents, and the residents in Dunscombe Road in particular, started to express grave concerns," said Mr. Scott.

"I asked Mr. Hunt whether he and his group might consider this development on another site."

After all the protests over almost a year from a great many in the electorate.  Even asking for opinions and then ignoring them.  Suddenly Mr. Scott's constituents voice concern and that's enough to persuade him that perhaps the developers should be looking at other sites?  It doesn't add up.

So, what questions should we be asking ourselves?

Mr. Scott told The Royal Gazette: "Sustainable development does not mean 'no development', it means you manage it and work with developers. So we talked about a hotel, housing and a golf course at Morgan's Point. We wondered if the Southland's group would be interested in such a swap, and the answer came back as 'yes'.

Morgan's point?  Doesn't the government own Morgan's point?  Will it be sold for fair value?  

Any development of Morgan's Point would require a major clean-up operation. The peninsula was a US Naval base until the mid-1990s and contains much oil pollution.

That's quite a massive cleanup.  Who's going to conduct it and who's going to pay for it?

"I asked Mr. Hunt whether they would be prepared to put in housing as part of their plan and the answer also came back as 'yes'."

Housing?  What kind of housing?  Millionaire condos; affordable housing; apartment buildings?  Does housing = condos = a lot more profit and is that part of the interest in a different site or is this a chance to improve living for Bermudians?  Could it be some combination of the two and if so, how much?

Mr. Scott said: "If they are prepared to consider another site, I think we have a win-win situation. Morgan's Point would also give them the possibility of an 18-hole golf course, and with the Port Royal course on the other side this offers the possibility of a 36-hole facility on the Island. This would enable us to hold major PGA competitions here.

A 36-hole golf facility?  Who will own the Morgan's Point golf course?  Is there a suggestion of selling the government owned Port Royal golf course alongside Morgan's point to create that 36-hole facility, or simply a partnership between the two in order to hold PGA competitions?

"I also think Bermudians would be far more supportive of the development. I put it to the owners that this site would not only match Southland's, but is perhaps a better site for them."

No doubt, but there needs to be a clear picture of what will happen to Southland's itself.  Bermuda Environmental Sustainability Taskforce Chairman Stuart Hayward suggests Southland's should be bought back and turned into a nature reserve and public park for the enjoyment of the Bermudian people.

"A value-for-value trade of Southland's for land at Morgan's Point would get our endorsement. We recognize that talks are still underway and that details have yet to be worked out. With that in mind, and responding only to the initial glimpse into the concept given by former Premier Alex Scott, we are cautiously optimistic.

Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, for a prime hotel and golf course at Morgan's point could be a good thing for Bermuda but, but there indeed are many unanswered questions.  Did the location change because of the opinion of a single constituency yet when hundreds, if not thousands, of the electorate were opposed to the Southland's development it didn't matter?  Who's going to handle the cleanup and who's going to own what?  What will happen to Southland's itself?

There are far too many unanswered questions but knowing that the project is on hold gives us time to start looking for answers.

Tourism: an update

Back near the end of June, I provided an example of what a fair and honest review of the state of our tourism industry should look like as seen from the perspective of this writer.  Political spin not included.

It was noted that

"Due to new US passport regulations introduced in January, seasonal tourism numbers for April took a slight decline and we expect this decline to continue in the following months as Americans adjust to the new requirements.  Thankfully, the US immigration office has recently reconsidered their passport policy and opted to delay the requirement until October, only requiring travelers to have photo ID and proof of a passport application."

For those in the know, this US passport regulation change is not new as it was originally introduced in the early part of this year.  The delay in October and less restricted requirements may have helped salvage our summer with regards to tourism.  However, when noting a recent Royal Gazette article, it is interesting to note a couple things.

A warning from Premier Brown with regards to the impact of the new restrictions.

New restrictions requiring US citizens must travel with passports could damage tourism, Premier Ewart Brown has warned.

Oddly, while hotel occupancy isn't as high as it was touted in may, it is up 6 percent while arrivals are down.  What this means is up for debate.

Tourism in Bermuda has had mixed results in the second quarter with hotel occupancy levels up to 84 percent, an increase of six percent compared to last year. However air arrivals for the second quarter were down by 1.5 percent to 99,594.

Here's a gem worth noting.

Cruise passengers are still exempt from the new laws until 2009.

For those eager for more info-porn, feel welcome to read the Caribbean Tourism Organization's Latest 2007 Tourism Statistics Tables (Sept. 17, 2007), for the full picture of tourism throughout the caribbean.    Here are some exerpts with relation to Bermuda.

 

Air arrivals

During Jan-Jul, overall arrivals were 182,892, an increase of 2.4% over last year.  Thus far, the winter yielded an increase of 8.7% while the summer is down 1.3%.

Arrivals for April were -3.9%, May -0.4%, June -0.8% and July -2.7

Cruise arrivals

Up 10.7% to 205,732

 

Questions which arise are whether the discount airlines have truly had the desired impact in comparison to the unknown amount of subsidizing which may have occurred.

Overall, things appear to have stuck along the earlier predicted trend and it shall be interesting to note the impacts that the full introduction of the US passport requirements in October have on air passengers as we progress into the off-season.

Will the new hotels be bad for business?

One question that should be asked with more frequency is what will the impact of the raft of new hotels really do to our tourism industry?  Do we have enough people to work in these hotels?    What is the quality of service from the hotels we already have?  Is more competition a good idea?  Will raft of new hotels do more to ruin tourism than improve it?

It is already becoming more and more apparent that hotels are having employment troubles and worker shortages.  The decline of the US dollar combined with difficult immigration policies, the long distance required to attract foreign workers and the lack of Bermudians willing to work in the industry are starting to take their toll. 

According to TripAdvisor user reviews, here are rankings of level of service out of 5 for Bermuda Hotels

Fairmont Hamilton Princess, 626 rooms, service? 3.5 out of 5

Fairmont Southampton Princess, 593 rooms, service?  3.5 out of 5

Wyndam Bermuda Resort and Spa, 252 rooms, service?  3.5 out of 5

Elbow Beach Bermuda, 235 rooms, service? 4 out of 5

Grotto Bay Beach Resort, 201 rooms, service? 3.5 out of 5

So, of the 5 largest hotels, measured on service levels alone we're scoring between 3.5 and 4 out of 5.  Could this have anything to do with difficulties surrounding achieving adequate staffing levels?

What will the impact be of the raft of new hotels coming online?  Two properties, Southlands and Grand Atlantic purported to be of similar size to the Fairmont properties?  What will they do to attract employees in an island where there is already low unemployment?  Will they pay more to steal workers away from other properties, further decreasing our overall levels of service?  Will they be able to attract in loads of foreign workers given the constraints listed above?   What if they cannot and then become unprofitable?

What impact will this added competition have on our overall quality of service and will tourists be willing to pay a high price for poor service?  Will this do more to ruin our reputation than improve it?  Do we really have enough workers?  Can our infrastructure handle a mass influx of more?  Can we even attract them?

There are simply too many unanswered questions and I fear that too few people are asking them.

Holiday envy

"Holidays have become the new Rolex or Porsche, a status symbol used to impress friends, family and colleagues." said Paul Birkhead, senior manager of underwriting for Halifax Travel Insurance, who was quoted in a new article in the Guardian.

According to the article,

Holiday envy is alive and well ... with 12% admitting to being jealous of the places their friends visit, 8% of the meals they consume and 6% of the cars they drive.

Does this add more evidence as to why Bermuda should be an aiming to become an exclusive brand name with regards to tourism as I've written about previously in "Where there is no Starbucks", "The Louis Vuitton of Tourism" and "Qualitative or quantitative"?

Bermuda simply doesn't garner much envy when cruise visitors get a better deal than those air visitors who pay a lot more.

Tourism numbers

While I'm encouraged by the article in the paper regarding hotel occupancy rates, I'm still waiting on the numbers to be posted on the gov.bm website so I can gain a better picture of where things are.  Hopefully they're coming soon.

where there is no Starbucks

Stressed?  Need a vacation to get away from it all?  The busy life, the hectic streets, the so called rat race?  Come to the place where there is no Starbucks.  Take your next vacation in peaceful Bermuda.

Not too long ago I had an interesting thought.  Are we one of the only places in the world not penetrated by the Starbucks empire?  Starbucks, like McDonalds and other huge franchises seem everywhere, just not here in Bermuda.  In some ways Bermuda seems untouched from the rest of the world.  In others, we've bought into the flashy lifestyle, the expensive cars, the big screen TVs and the Louis Vuitton everywhere.  Bermuda still does hold some exclusivity and it is that which we should be doing our best to exploit to rebuild tourism.

A reader from the Caymans passed along an editorial in the Cayman net news asking the same questions of whether cruise is really worth it and if we should be taking a less is more approach to tourism.

From the editorial:

the [Cayman] government’s latest master plan to solve the imbalance in the tourism sector between relative numbers of stay-over and cruise visitors, as well as the high cost of getting and staying here, is to target high net worth individuals – to be the destination of choice for the rich and famous.

That concept may have worked when we were “the islands that time forgot”, and we had a distinctive quality that set us apart from our competitors.

However, time remembered us with a vengeance and within the space of a few short years brought us the fast-food franchises, hotel chains, and unbridled development that have gone a long way towards submerging our once unique identity in the concrete and traffic that anyone can experience in a zillion other places in the world.

Sounds a bit like Bermuda.  We're lucky to have put a stop to fast food franchises years ago, but we do suffer from unbridled development in the form of Special Development Order after Special Development Order, with more to come.  Do you even need to be reminded about our traffic woes?  Solutions to which I've written on numerous occasions such as dedicated school buses, taxi-buses, rush-hour sensitive congestion taxes and car sharing.  

For years, the Cayman Islands seemed to have a unique formula for tourism success, targeting a very specific niche market that made up for its lack of volume with its disposable vacation income and generous spending habits.

They must have stolen this formula from old Bermuda for isn't it what made Bermuda tourism a success? 

Cayman’s tourism formula was to attract a certain type of guest — and our visitors were made to feel more like guests back then — who did not mind paying a premium price for a Caribbean destination that offered safety, convenience and friendly hosts in a laid-back, uncrowded environment.

The visitors who were attracted to this kind of tourism product were usually high-earning professionals who primarily wanted to get away from their hectic lifestyles. These people didn’t really mind that there were not dozens of attractions to see, and in fact liked the fact that the Cayman Islands did not have the typical “tourist traps” of many other Caribbean destinations.

Does this sound remarkably like what I've been advocating for Bermuda to resurrect tourism?

To return to our headline question, is it too late – have we killed the goose that laid the golden stay-over tourism egg? Clearly, it’s impossible to turn back the clock and undo all the ill-considered development, so we are stuck now in the unenviable position of being a mini-Miami Beach, that’s much more expensive to stay in and to get to than the real thing.

For Bermuda it isn't too late just yet.  Put an end to the SDO's.  Improve what we have now.  Slow down.  Get rid of cruise ships.  Take a less is more approach.  Bring back EXCLUSIVITY!

Do we therefore continue the logical progression and try to turn ourselves into the next Paradise Island, with casinos and mass tourism? And what of the divers from all lifestyles that came back to the Cayman Islands year after year after year?

We already are an island paradise.  We've got some of the best diving in the world.  Some of most beautiful golf courses and one of the best beaches in the world.  We've got the location.  We've got the infrastructure.  We've got the resources. 

It may be too late for the Caymans, but it isn't too late for Bermuda.

Calling for a soft close

Bermuda's economy is in big trouble.  Does that make sense?   Bermuda's economy is booming.  Government revenue is up, tourism is up, and jobs are up.  Our GDP per capita rating is unmatched in the world.  So what's wrong? 

It's great to know our economy is booming, however the question arises of what happens when that growth is too fast?  What happens when inflation spirals out of control, when "affordable housing" isn't affordable, affordable rentals are impossible to find and our infrastructure is stretched.  What happens when traffic gets worse and worse and we are hard pressed to keep control of the growth we have?  Is our booming economy as great then?

If our present growth is unsustainable and a stretch on our infrastructure, is it a good idea to let 82 more companies incorporate on the island this year like we did last?   According to the Department of Statistics latest job market report, there were 553 more non-Bermudian positions created in 2006 than in 2005.  That's 553 more people coming to our island, filling our homes, driving on our roads, consuming our electricity and contributing to our waste.  While we do appreciate the contributions of our guest workers, at some point we do need to realize that too much growth is just not good for business, nor is it good for Bermudians.

In the world of finance there is a concept referred to as a "soft close".  A soft close essentially means that you close to new business temporarily while you take the necessary measures to manage your present growth and better prepare your infrastructure to handle future growth for when you reopen.   A soft close for Bermuda would mean that Bermuda would no longer take on any new exempt company incorporations and would work with existing exempt companies to figure out ways to reduce the numbers of non-Bermudians required on island.  A less is more style approach.

In the interests of getting a better handle on our growth, would a soft close be a good option for Bermuda and it's people?  Would it give us the ability to address our housing crisis?  Would it give us time to rethink our infrastructure and how it operates so that we can find a way to get more for less?  If we truly hope for a sustainable future for Bermudians, should we seriously be considering the possibility of closing to new business while we focus on ensuring we can manage the growth we have now.

Qualitative or Quantitative?

Oscuro Branson, a Progressive Minds blogger, has taken a few moments to comment on my concept of "less is more" when it comes to improving Bermuda tourism.  Rather than respond in the comments of his blog, I've chosen to respond here for I've found that my comments are sometimes filtered out despite adhering to the stated BLOG RULES.

In brief review, what is the less is more concept?  Very basically, due to our limited space, resource and capacity constraints, I believe that we should be striving for less tourists who spend more money.  In short, quality over quantity. 

It may seem counterintuitive, why would we want to turn away tourists?  The real issue comes when we examine how cruise visitors compare to air visitors.  At present, each air visitor spends approximately six times as much as each cruise visitor.  This means we need 6 times as many cruise visitors to match one air visitor.  The issue we have is that when you really get down to it, cruise visitors get more value for their money.  They're offered a better Bermuda vacation than air visitors and that is what truly is counterintuitive.

Take my 3 friends I have visiting the island this week.  Two are staying in a hotel at some $350 a night and one is staying with me at my place.  I decide to take them by a few of the sights on the island and show them a little about the island.  I take them by Tobacco bay because it is one of the closer beaches to where I live and was always a childhood favorite of mine.  Unfortunately, the cruise ship being in means that the beach is so packed that there is barely room to lay down a towel let alone walk to the water.  I felt ashamed that I'd even shown them the beach because it was clear that we'd stuffed it so full of cruise visitors that the chances for my friends to relax and enjoy the beach that I love were slim. 

I decide to show them the nightlife and subsequently take them out to the Pink Party at some $50 a ticket that was on at Snorkel Park on Saturday.  When it came time that they'd had enough and wanted to leave, we went out to catch a taxi back to Hamilton, only there were none.  We called a taxi company and ordered one.  More waiting, still nothing.  We decided we'd try walking out a ways to see if one were to come that we could pick it up before the many other people waiting.  Still nothing.  Of about an hours waiting, not one taxi came through.  Again, I was ashamed that my friends were being shown a poor time for their money and there was little I could do about it.

My friends decided to go out to lunch and later told me about it.  Unfortunately the restaurant was so packed that service was terrible.  While the waiter was friendly, food took over an hour to arrive and my friends were starving.  When I was told this, again I was ashamed that we had packed our restaurants so full with cruise visitors that my high paying friends couldn't get reasonable service.

Then I think of the stories I hear from tourists at guest houses and hotels.  Ones where they've waited an hour or more for taxis that don't show up.  If you were to go to where the cruise ships are, the taxi's line up in wait to serve cruise visitors.  Then you can talk to those air visitors who'd like to go out on a catamaran cruise, rent some jetskis, or swim with the dolphins and again I hear that often times they show up and there is no availability.  "We're sorry, we've already guaranteed all our spots to the cruise ship".  In the times that I am told these stores I am ashamed at the quality of our tourism product.  Especially considering that these people are spending hundreds a night in a hotel while cruise visitors get priority.

The very crux of the problem is that we are not a volume based destination.  We're a tiny island of limited resources.  We don't have a great number of taxis, we don't have a great number of restaurants and we don't have 100 mile long beaches.  When we let cruise passengers come in and run the show, the quality of vacation for our air visitors suffer.  Air visitors who are contributing 6 times more money to our economy are treated with second class service to cruise passengers.   Why do we do this?  Where is the benefit when the increase in air visitors from 2006 over 2005 alone nearly equaled the amount of money that cruise visitors spent in 2005.

It may be a hard concept to understand, but less really is more when it comes to Bermuda tourism.  By offering more exclusivity and better quality of service, we would be free to increase our prices.  Air visitors would be willing to spend more money for a visit to Bermuda if it was more exclusive.  That is if they were guaranteed quiet and unpacked beaches.  If they got quick and reliable service from taxis, activities and restaurants.  If they got a high quality vacation overall that you just cannot attain anywhere but in Bermuda.  Air visitors shouldn't have to compete with cruise in these regards.  There are a great many destinations who cater to tourists en mass.  We should be the destination where you get what you pay for. 

The Louis Vuitton of tourism

It's no secret that Bermudians love Louis Vuitton.  Pay 10 times the price for a product of the same quality simply because of it's name and recognized brand.  Somehow buying someone else's name makes your own image seem more reputable.  As my father always tells me, "Son, you get what you pay for" and you can't argue with the fact that with Louis Vuitton what you're paying for is branding and exclusivity.

Compare Louis Vuitton's approach to the one we use for Bermuda tourism.  We're pandering to the lowest denominator in order to tout the highest "arrival" numbers while not paying attention to what really matters: $$$.  Cruise ships and discount tourists are our business as we think we can compete with the rest of the Caribbean in this market.  It's saddening.  Ask most Americans what they think of Bermuda and their likely response is "who?  Oh, you mean one of those Caribbean islands?", though we're not even in the Caribbean.  To the outside world and those who haven't witnessed the beauty of our tranquil waters and uniqueness of our architecture and culture, Bermuda is just another island.

The Bermuda I dream of is one that is like the Louis Vuitton of tourism.  I dream of Bermuda being a name so reputable and exclusive that when someone says they went to Bermuda on vacation, jaws drop open in disbelief and envy.  Bermuda should be prestigious, exclusive and the place where everyone wishes they could be and are willing to pay a premium to say they were here.

As I've said before, cruise ships are not the answer.  Cruise ships are like Louis Vuitton introducing a wal-mart line of products.  If Louis Vuitton carried a wal-mart line that anyone could buy, it would kill the exclusivity of the brand.  Cruise ships make Bermuda accessible to the "wal-mart" of tourists.   There is of course nothing wrong with the "wal-mart" class of tourists, only that they're further down the long tail.  Making money on the "wal-mart" class requires targeting large volumes for little profits.  This model works perfectly in large Caribbean destinations but on our tiny little island, we're easily strained.

Today most hotels are packed with foreign workers.  Why?  Because the profits are so slim that you can't pay people very well and thus the demands of the jobs are not attractive for Bermudians.  Our cost of living is already high enough.  If we were the Louis Vuitton of tourism, the exclusivity and quality of product offered would allow us to charge 10 times the price of other accessible destinations of similar quality.  Being the Louis Vuitton of tourism means we can greatly increase our profit margins while decreasing the overall numbers of tourists.  If our profit margins were larger, we could pay our people more.  If we attracted high rollers, it would be lucrative to work in the tourism industry rather than a struggle.  Bermudians would have options other than international business again.

The case against cruise

Some people may see the loss of cruise ships in Hamilton next year as a bad thing.  Personally, I think it's great.  I believe cruise isn't worth the time or money we spend on it.

Courtesy of data compiled from the Caribbean Tourism Organization, Quarterly Bulletins of Statistics and yearly Bermuda Digest's of Statistics, here is a breakdown to support my case.

 

Here is a chart of Air vs. Cruise arrivals.   What you'll note is that while overall arrivals are up considerably since 1998, they are largely comprised of a heavy increase in cruise visitors over air visitors.  Cruise visitors attributing significantly more than they did in 1998 while air visitors still lagging 1998 numbers.

 

Here is a chart of average visitor expenditure.  What you'll note is that while the total average expenditure for both cruise and air visitors combined hovers around $1400, air visitors heavily outperform cruise by about 6 to 1.  

 

Each air visitor contributes 6 times as much to the local economy as each cruise visitor which is demonstrated by the next chart.  Note how most of the increase in expenditure came from air visitors and not cruise. 

 

Despite total arrivals being way up according to the first chart, some 75,000 more visitors in 2006 than there were in 1998, we actually earned $30 million less.

Does this suggest that we should be focusing all of our energy on maximizing the expenditure of air visitors?  Perhaps by improving the quality of their stay we could do without cruise visitors entirely?   Here's some food for thought.  Look at the total expenditure graph for 2006 and note how the air expenditure for 2006 matches the total expenditure for 2005.  That means if we'd had no cruise visitors in 2006 we still would have made just as much money as in 2005.

Less cruise means less people on our roads, our beaches, less garbage, less power consumed, and more for us and our air based tourists.  Should we be focusing 100% of our energy on ensuring a quality and prestigious vacation for air visitors in order to improve Bermuda tourism and forget about cruise all together? 

Tourism: A fair and honest review

The following is an exerpt of a comment I recently posted on the Progressive Minds blog.  I feel the state of our tourism industry can be described with a fair and honest review, no spin necessary.  Spin only confuses people and takes away from the real efforts of those trying to improve our overall situation.  So, without further adu, here is my second quarter tourism report.

Efforts to boost air arrivals have been successful for the first quarter resulting in a net increase in visitors.  Business travellers have been increasing frequency of visits over the winter thanks to the lower cost airlines.  This increase has caused our traditional low season to start reaching for a high which is encouraging for future tourism development.

Due to new US passport regulations introduced in January, seasonal tourism numbers for April took a slight decline and we expect this decline to continue in the following months as Americans adjust to the new requirements.  Thankfully, the US immigration office has recently reconsidered their passport policy and opted to delay the requirement until October, only requiring travellers to have photo ID and proof of a passport application. This means that while we may be facing a slight decline in the months of April, May and half of June, we should see a resurgence in late June carrying through the summer for a good season overall.

 

Hopefully this added delay will give Americans time to adjust to the new requirements and we should expect another prosperous tourism season next year thanks to all the great efforts and hard work of our Tourism Ministry

PLP responsible for 27% DROP IN AIR ARRIVALS!!!

Have I got your attention?  No?

Did you know that during the period of 1998 through 2004 the PLP was responsible for a drop of $133 million in tourism revenue?

How about now?

Good, because according to numbers from the Caribbean Tourism Organization the above statements are accurate.  In 1997, the year before the PLP took power, air arrivals were 379,685.  In 2006, those numbers had dropped to 298,962, some 27% lower.  Visitor expenditure in 1998 was $486.8 million, in 2004 it was $353.7 million, a drop of $133 million.

Is it fair to blame the drop in air arrivals or visitor expenditure on the PLP?  Perhaps, perhaps not.  Indeed they have been the governing body but they have also had to manage tourism through Hurricane Fabian, one of our worst, along with the fallout from the events of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York city.

Is it fair to over-sensationalize bad performance without the big picture?  No?  Well is it fair to over-sensationalize good performance without the big picture?  Statistics out of context can be twisted in many ways. 

Let's take the recent tourism press release which the PLP youth blog picked up and sensationalized with the heading:

Press Release - Tourism Numbers SOAR!

Is it surprising that this was the reaction of the PLP youth wing?  Well when the numbers are presented like this:

 

Tourist Air Arrivals % increase/decrease:

 

Location	JANUARY	FEBRUARY	MARCH
BERMUDA	+24.8%	+12.6%	+17.9%
Bahamas	-5.8%	-8.2%	-2.1%
Barbados	-3.3%	-4.7%	*
British Virgin Islands	+1.9%	+1.1%	*
Cayman Islands	+17.7%	+11.8%	+11.6%
Jamaica	-0.7%	-4.0%	-1.7%
Montserrat	-2.9%	-17.6%	-9.2%
St. Lucia	-13.2%	-14.0%	-4.5%

Source: Caribbean Tourism Organization
* Not available 

How could one not be excited?  But what is the real story?  Well, if you check the source and change the selection of numbers, you can paint a very different picture.

Tourist Air Arrivals % increase/decrease:

Location	JANUARY	FEBRUARY	MARCH	APRIL
BERMUDA	+24.8%	+12.6%	+17.9%	-3.9%
Cancun(Mexico)	+105%	+58.2%	+40.3%	+42.5%
Cozumel	+236.9%	-8.4%	*	*
British Virgin Islands	+1.9%	+1.1%	*	*
Cayman Islands	+17.7%	+11.8%	+11.6%	*

Source: Caribbean Tourism Organization
* Not available 

Are these numbers accurate?  Yes they are.  But do you note what is different from the above version?  Well, the -3.9% drop in April was conveniently left out to make the numbers look better.  Also note how most of the comparative numbers chosen were negative or less than Bermuda's. 

Does it paint a fair picture?  Is it fair to over-sensationalize good or bad performance without the big picture?  Unfortunately, there is no easy answer. 

 

--- Update:

Fixed typo: "in 1994 it was $353.7 million" was supposed to be "in 2004 it was $353.7 million"

Archive Entry: Bermuda as a business

This entry comes from a post made on my now defunct former blog back in June of 2006.

I read an article on heartbeatnews.com on Bermuda tourism the other day that contained a few very interesting statistics.  Apparently, in 2005, we had the highest level of visitors in 2005 with a total of 521,043 arrivals by air and sea.  Air arrivals reached 269,587, down marginally.  Cruise arrivals rose by 20% to 247,259.  Tourism earned a total of $448 million with an estimated $39 million in revenues coming from cruise visitors.  It then pointed out that this is less then 10 percent of overall spending.

Let’s take a moment to think about this for a second.  Cruise arrivals accounted for nearly HALF of incoming visitors yet earned us less then 10 PERCENT!?!  Looking at Bermuda as purely a business, I'd have to say I really don't like those numbers; this venture doesn't seem profitable at all.

Let’s compare Air earnings to Cruise shall we?

 

Cruise:

$39 million / 250,000 = $156 a person approximately

 

Air:

$409 million / 270,000 = $1515 a person approximately

 

So using these numbers, let’s assume we invest $50 million into tourism hoping to revitalize it.  I’ll suggest a couple projects which that money could be used to boost numbers on one side or the other.   For Cruise, let’s assume we use it to construct new docks and for Air, say a conference center.

So let’s figure out how many more people we need to bring in to recoup that cost for our people.

 

Cruise:

            $50 million / $156 = 320,000 people approximately

 

Air:

            $50 million / $1515 = 33,000 people approximately

So, if we wanted to recoup our investment, how much of a gain in each industry will we need to see?

Cruise:

            Over 1 year:  (320,000 / 250,000) x 100 = 128% increase

            Over 5 years:  (320,000 / (250,000 x 5)) x 100 = 26% increase

 

Air:

            Over 1 year:  (33,000 / 270,000) = 12% increase

            Over 5 years:  (33,000 / (270,000 x 5)) x 100 = 2.4% increase

I’m no rocket scientist, nor am I a CEO of a super rich reinsurance company, but to me, if Bermuda were my business, it would seem that it would be a hell of a lot better to invest my money in Air and not even bother with Cruise.  That’s not even considering the costs in terms of the people that flood our beaches, our roads, contribute to waste and take up spots in valuable activities that should instead be going to air visitors who earn us a good deal more?

If someone would be so kind, please explain to me why we’re even remotely considering building new docks for super ships as part of the waterfront revitalization plan?  Why are we also planning to destroy our heritage so that town cut can be widened?

Hell, if you can tell me that, perhaps you can also tell me why we’re even bothering to compete with the sun and fun tourism industry in the first place?  Our peak season is the Caribbean’s off season and frankly 4 months of sun worthy weather just doesn’t cut it in terms of competition.

If it were up to me, I’d be chasing the business rewards, international conferences, trade shows and incentive planning industries instead.  We are after all an international business center.  We also happen to be a short hop from the east coast, and businesses just happen to have the money to spend where “discount tourism” just doesn’t cut the mustard in comparison.  On top of that we’d get free advertising in terms of inviting more business to locate here, if we so desired to let them, that is.

Why is targeting business an easier sell?  Businesses give expense accounts to their traveling employees.  Foreign companies are taxed on profit so if you can write off expenses and lower your profit; you don’t get taxed on it, and happier employee’s too boot.  What better way to reward your workers then sending them to a conference in beautiful Bermuda?

I just don’t understand it why Vegas needs to be the only place where all the big conferences go.  Wouldn’t people enjoy coming to a destination like Bermuda?  Perhaps if we build a conference center or two, pandered to the industry a little, and capitalized more on our location, location, location… tourism wouldn’t be such a dead industry and we’d actually be running a profitable business.

Tourism may look good now, but where will we be in a few months?

While the Premier may be 'excited' by the increase in number of tourists visitors, I still remain unconvinced that this year will be a good year for tourism.  In the past I have written about the potential for the new US passport regulations to have an impact on our tourism industry.  Another issue that may have impact on this years tourism season are Ajustible Rate Mortgages and how they have affected the US housing market causing a reduction in tourism spending this year.

Today, there was an interesting post on one of my favorite economics blogs - http://bigpicture.typepad.com - that was suggesting potential tertiary market impacts caused by the slowdown in the housing sector.  One potential slowdown that was listed was airlines, which got me thinking further about travel.

Back in Feburary I wrote about the potential impact rising interest rates may have on the housing market.  This being that many Adjustable Rate Mortgages were given out by lenders when interest rates were low and now that interest rates have risen, those attractive low rate adjustable mortgages have turned into high rate ones which have stretched the budgets of many beyond their expectations. 

This stretch has caused many to begin to try to put their homes on the market in hopes of selling prior to foreclosure.  This also means that the budgets of many individuals who rely on such mortgages are now stretched further then they once were.  When an individual's budget is stretched, they're more likely to cut out luxuries such as fancy vacations to destinations such as Bermuda (especially when adding the hassle factor of not having a passport) in favor of cheaper vacations.

Will the downturn of the American housing sector have a negative impact on our tourism market?  Perhaps.  Is it a good idea to get Bermudians all riled up in believing that tourism is going to be great this year?  Well I suppose an election is just around the corner.

Business or Pleasure?

 

Visitor
a person who visits, as for reasons of friendship, business, duty, travel, or the like.  

Arrivals
One that arrives or has arrived.

Tourist
One who travels for pleasure.

 

First quarter tourism statisistics review

So, a visitor is any person who visits, an arrival is any person who arrives but a tourist is someone who travels only for pleasure?  Ok, lets use these definitions as we review the first quarter tourism statistics:

I have been pleased to announce month by month, increased visitor arrivals during a period that traditionally had all sorts of adjectives to describe it and none of them were positive. Today is no different and I am proud to say that if the first quarter of this year is a sign of things to come, 2007 is shaping up to be a fantastic year for Tourism arrivals.

Wait.  If they're visitor arrivals, do those numbers include business travellers here for international business purposes?

January arrivals up 24.71%
February arrivals up 9.01%
March arrivals up 32.25%

Wait.  Again, I'm confused.  Do arrivals count for all who arrived on a plane, including Bermudians?   How many were Bermudians and how many were not?  Who was travelling for business and who was travelling for pleasure?  Does this include residents who leave the island due to the cheap fares of the new discount airlines?

Total visitor arrivals for the first three months of the year have all resulted in increases, with a total quarterly increase of 23.47% over the same period in 2006. This increase of more than 9,000 visitors marks the fourth consecutive quarter of growth for the island and the highest first quarter visitor arrival statistic since 2000.

There are those words again...  Visitor?  Is a visitor a tourist or is a visitor anyone who comes to the island?

Ladies and gentlemen, the numbers speak for themselves!

Actually, they're horribly ambigous and are misleading without a proper breakdown, which was not provided.

This comes at a time when, according to the CHA Weekly News, “The US State Department says it is cranking out U.S. passports in historically high numbers to meet an unprecedented surge in demand caused by tough
new immigration rules.” There was initial concern that the new rules would affect our first quarter
results; however the results underscore the growing demand for the Bermuda product in the
marketplace.

Where is this quote as google turned up nothing?

 

What the industry is saying

This when Fodor's suggests 'Need a U.S. Passport? Expect Delays'.  Does this means increased demand and limited supply?  What was it like when Bermudians needed their passports stamped?  Then there is United States Senator Norm Coleman who is "[pressing] the State Department for quick action to address the massive passport application backlog".  "[Which] is primarily a result of passport applications that have increased by over 40% from the same time period last year"

 

What do the numbers say?

MarketWatch reports:

"About 1.1 million travelers applied for a passport in November, a 60% rise from the same month a year earlier, Royster said. In fiscal year 2006, more than 12 million people applied for passports, compared with about 10 million a year earlier."

Wait a second.  Didn't I write about a potential tourism crisis looming on the horizon?  Let's do a quick flashback.

According to an August edition of the New York Times, only 27% of Americans are believed to have passports.

Well, if Wikipedia is accuate, the 2007 population estimate for the United States is 301,566,000 people.  So 27% of that is some 81,422,800 and lets add another 6 million to account for the other half of 2006, so approx 87.5 million people.  Let's assume there is even a 50% increase in passport applications for the year, thats still only 18 million total processed in the year.  Which only adds up to at most 105.5 million people of 301.5 million, some 35%.  That doesn't even assume renewals.

Also, it was suggested by Brian Major, spokesman for the Cruise Lines International Association that last year, 20 percent to 30 percent of cruise passengers used passports as documentation, with the rest using birth certificates or driver’s licenses.

Is it presumptious to assume that tourism hasn't been impacted when the cruise season hasn't begun?  If only 35% of people actually get around to having passports, how many will opt for a local vacation instead of the hassle.  Especially if there are delays and frustrations as outlined by Fodors and Marketwatch?

 

The real numbers

The real question is how many $$$ were spent in Bermuda.  Visitors matter nothing if they arn't leaving their money here, unless you just like the joy of entertaining.  We're told that the numbers speak for themselves.  Well here are the numbers according to the number of times the following words appear in the first quarter statistics.

 

Arrival: Occurs 19 times

Visitor: Occurs 16 times

Tourist: Occurs 0 times.

 

Remember those definitions above?

 

I'll belive it's been a banner quarter when you can tell me in statistics that include non-bermudian, bermudian, resident, non-resident, business, pleasure and hopefully how much is approximated to have been contributed to the economy by each group.  Until then, these numbers mean nothing to me.

Tourism: Year in Review - Part 1

Now that the gazette has launched a better online search engine, I'm trying to sort my way through a bunch of articles focused on last year's tourism.  Below are some notes I've made

Articles

Tourism Arrivals (from july)

"air arrivals were also up by almost ten percent"

"visitors stayed longer"

"first peak season in which all of the Island’s major properties were open for business, meaning there were more beds available and Bermuda did not have to turn visitors away as happened in previous high seasons."

"Dr. Brown rightly raised a number of risk factors that must be considered carefully."

These include crime, especially against visitors, complacency and inattention to detail, he said, adding: “Each of these in their own way will detract from the tireless efforts of many Bermudians to grow tourism.”

"Visitors simply have too many choices today, and it takes very little for them to decide against a place where they fear they may not be safe." 

Figures point to tourism boost, Senators hear

"20,345 visitors arrived on commercial airlines last month, compared to 18,743 last year."

"November increased by 8.55 percent over the same period last year"

Tourism and hotels

"overall arrivals soaring 23.2 percent over 2005 with a total of 641,717 air and cruise visitors. More importantly, air arrivals rose ten percent to 298,973 visitors"

"Dr. Brown ... announcing ... upscale Southlands development ... to ... give the industry the same kind of jump start that the Atlantis resort did in the Bahamas ."

"The overall growth in tourism has largely been driven by the surge in cruise arrivals, which increased 36 percent to a record 336,299 in 2006"

"air visitors outspend cruise visitors by an estimated ratio of ten to one"

"visitors’ estimated average spending, cruise visitors contributed just $37.6 million compared to the estimated $320 million air visitors will have spent in 2006."

"some increase in the number of hotel beds is needed, and this is the impetus for Southlands, the new city hotel and the Golden Hind redevelopment. Before that happens, there will be some 300 beds added at Tucker’s Point, Belmont Hills and Newstead, while Ariel Sands and the Wyndham are also being renovated."

"what’s wrong with the Southlands development?"

"this plan might be acceptable if there were no other hotel sites available. But there are. From Lantana in Sandys to Club Med in St. George’s there are sites available for redevelopment which will remain vacant even if Southlands is approved."

"Government ... rezone[d] land already slated for tourism at Loughlands — through ... a special development order — for housing."

"There is a risk that an over-supply of hotels is as dangerous as an under-supply, and managing growth and avoiding a glut is just as important as avoiding one."

Bermuda tourism is in ‘secular decline’ says S&P

Bermuda’s tourism industry is in “secular decline”, unrelated to the damage caused to it by Hurricane Fabian or the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the US, according to global financial analysts Standard & Poor’s (S&P).

S&P’s findings were related to the longer term

predicted ... Island’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per head ... will continue to rise at an annual rate of 2.7 percent, in real terms, this year and next.

inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), will continue to rise at 3 percent through 2008.

Standard & Poor’s, which is based in New York, is an international provider of financial intelligence and analysis. Among its numerous lines of business, it issues sovereign creditworthiness ratings, for 113 countries. The S&P report, commissioned by the Bermuda Government, upgraded the outlook for the Island from “stable” to “positive”, as was revealed last month.

"The downturn in tourism reflects a secular decline, not just attributable to September 11, 2001 or due to the vagaries of hurricane damage, which also hit other island vacation destinations." ... “Performance of the US economy is key for Bermuda, as more than 80 percent of air and 90 percent of cruise ship arrivals originate in the US,” the report states.

The decline in tourism has led to the closure of one-third of Bermuda’s hotel capacity since 1989 and has hurt the heavily protected retail sector.

Government figures released last month showed the Island’s GDP per capita for 2005 was $76,403 per head — the highest in the world according to the Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook. S&P has predicted that that figure will be just short of $90,000 by the end of 2008.

The danger of inflation is limited by the Bermuda currency’s 35-year-old fixed parity with the US dollar, S&P adds. “With the dominance of US dollar transactions in the international business and tourism sectors and Bermuda’s dependence on imports (principally from the US), inflation has generally tracked US trends,” the reports states.

“Since a slight up-tick in 2004, owing to public sector wage increases, inflation has run at 3.1 percent per year, and is projected at 3 percent in 2007 and 2008.”

Expect inflation to stay at around 3%, predicts S&P

Letters to the editor

"upon entering Bermuda at the airport to greet visitors, there was an entertainer who sang so sadly and looked so sad, one would assume he was moaning as opposed to singing."  said Milan A. Segall of New York City in this letter to the editor.

note: "Many of my business partners" - we do get many business tourists these days

"On Good Friday I took a visitor over to Dockyard on one of the morning ferries. " wrote Anne Pearson of Bailey's Bay, To my amazement nothing was open — there was nothing for tourists to see, buy or eat. No shops open, no museum or Commissioner's House for them to look around. We came across two elderly lady tourists who were most distressed advising that the public toilets were not only locked but also bolted!"

Thoughts

Perhaps we need more focus on accessible guides on what there is to do?   I heard from a friend that Google has this really cool service where you can send a text message to a google number and it will respond back with directions or information.  Imagine if we did similar for Bermuda?  Put details about Bermuda in a central directory that people can look up digitally via their cellphone.   

Do we have enough focus on business tourism?   A great many of our visitors these days are business focused.  Are we missing opportunities to host conferences, retreats and other business oriented opportunities?  Incentive vacations.

Why I rarely 'Buy Bermuda'

The article "'Frightening' rise in value of overseas purchases"  in yesterday's gazette talks about retailers fears concerning the lack of Bermudians who are buying in Bermuda. 

Personally, I rarely 'Buy Bermuda'.  It isn't that I'm not interested in contributing to the nearly 10% of our workforce that is employed by the retail industry, nor is it that I want my dollars to leave Bermuda.  What it comes down to is that I get very annoyed by the lack of service and the frustration I experience as a consumer in Bermuda.

To begin with, shopping hours are a pain if you work full time.  Most stores are open between the hours of 9-5, Monday through Saturday.  Seeing as I work Monday through Friday, I either have to make plans to leave work during my lunch hour, leave during work hours, or shop on a Saturday.

I usually like to eat on my lunch hours and one of the last times I tried to leave work at 4:45 to quickly grab something before the store closed, well, the store closed early.  The person behind the counter on the inside was too busy chatting on the phone and mouthed the words "we're closed".  I was shocked as to how a store could close early so that the employee could chat.

In other circumstances when I've attempted to shop, rarely am I approached with polite customer service like I recieve abroad.  More often then not, if I'm looking for something I have to hunt for a salesperson to get assistance and even then if you're not the utmost of polite in greeting them, they'll suck their teeth at you and act like you're asking them to lick the floor.  Bermudians have lost the concept of "the customer is always right" and replaced it with "if you don't greet me properly I won't acknowledge you".  I can't remember the last time a cashier said Good Morning/Afternoon to me as opposed to me being obliged to say it in order to be served.  Even in the cases when I do, it is often not returned and the people just glare at me like I shouldn't be giving them the extra work of ringing up my purchase.

Beyond this, some retailers assume they can charge outrageous prices.  The other day I decided I wanted to purchase some computer software.  I went to 4 different stores before I found one that carried it and when I did.  The exact same software that was $80 in that store was selling for $30 online.  Buying it online may mean I have to wait a week or two to get it, but at least I can get it at a reasonable price, order at any time of the day or night and don't have to put up with surly customer service.

If the Chamber of Commerce wants to do something to encourage more people in Bermuda.

• Change store hours so that you're open till 7pm in the evening at the minimum.  I shouldn't have to inconvience myself by leaving work to shop.
• Convince the government to let you open on Sundays.  Being forced to only be able to shop on Saturdays is very limiting as many people have things they like to do on the weekends.  Having two days to shop makes it alot easier to run out and grab something.
• Ensure you're employees have a good attitude and know the value of customer service.

Until these things happen, I'm sorry to say that I'm perfectly happy having my money leave the island by shopping abroad and online.

Service with a scowl

Though I can no longer go to the site to confirm, Tony Brannon's quote regarding tourism was essentially that Black Bermudians egged on by the BIU were responsible for the fall of tourism.

The island has been in an uproar since these comments were made with many people I've heard on the radio attacking them, threatening to boycott and condemning free speech.

For those who condemn free speech I'd like to remind them that without those first few who used freedom of speech to say slavery was wrong, we might still have slavery on our island today.  Despite the fact that Tony Brannon may forever be branded as a racist for his remark and nor do I agree with it, he does have a right to voice his opinion.

I'd like to take a moment to analyze Mr. Brannon's comments.  "Black Bermudians egged on by the BIU" is being taken to imply that he meant all Black Bermudians are responsible for the fall of tourism.  I don't believe this is the case and I think his message is being taken out of context.

A slight modification to his phrase changes it quite drastically.  "Black Bermudians [who were] egged on by the BIU" turns it into a phrase that points to a specific group of Bermudians who were egged on by the BIU to have a bad attitude.  It does unjustly identify a specific race of Bermudians yet many people are proclaiming that he meant all Black Bermudians are to blame for why Tourism has failed when this does not appear to be the case.

In all reality, noone could condone or approve of the way Mr. Brannon chose to phase his opinion.  Indeed he could have chosen much better ways to say it.  It was not Black Bermudians or White Bermudians who were responsible for the decline in tourism, it has been Bermudians in general. 

Very simply put, many Bermudians have a bad attitude.  If we were to make a book of  "Bermudian phrases", "That's not in my job description", "I can't be fired, I'm Bermudian" and "suphht" (the sound of sucking your teeth) would be near the top.  When was the last time you went to a restaurant and got more pleasant service from a Bermudian then from a foreigner?   When was the last time you tried to buy something in a shop and when asking for assistance from a Bermudian they sucked their teeth and looked at you like you're asking them to do something utterly below themselves, despite the fact that they're getting paid to do exactly what you're asking.

We, as Bermudians, seem to quickly forget what likely brought on Tony Brannon's admittedly racist remarks.  Not too long ago, our former Premier made the comment "I am sick and tired of taking crap from people who look and sound like Tony Brannon".  Many may be quick to disregard this comment, yet for many white people and especially Tony Brannon, it was a racist and offensive remark.  The Premier never apologized to Tony Brannon for it and only apologized for using the word crap.   It does not surprise me that Tony Brannon is now lashing out for the failure of Bermudians to step behind him and demand an apology.  He did deserve one whether the comment was a mistake or not.

How about our present Premier who suggested that Grant Gibbons is a racist dog.  I have yet to see any examples put forth of any circumstance where Grant Gibbons has done anything racist and to use the argument that he is white and rich to justify the claim is utterly appalling.  Simply because he is white and wealthy instantly makes him a racist?  Again, the apology of "I did not call him a racist dog for clearly he is not a dog" does not suffice.

Bermudians love to get all up in arms when a white person says something that he shouldn't have said.  If a white UBP Premier said about a black person what former Premier Scott said about Mr. Brannon, many would have been ready to lynch him.  Yet when a black Premier says it of a white person, it's not a racist remark.

We need to end our double standards about racism. Many Bermudians act like we have it so terrible, like it is such a horrible existence we live in as the richest country on the planet.  To all those who do, I recommend you go watch the movie "Blood Diamond" for a wakeup call of what life could be like.  We could go back to the days where we were ready to kill, rape, pillage and enslave each other simply so that we could betray ourselves for the mighty dollar.  Isn't that how African slavery began in the first place?

If you're going to boycott Hawkin's Island, why don't you also boycott every store, restaurant, hotel, taxi and every other service on the island who supports Bermudians with bad attitudes.  We need to get over ourselves.  Let's stop fighting over race and realize that regardless of how poorly he said it, if you take out race and the BIU, Tony Brannon was right when he said Bermudians have destroyed tourism in Bermuda.

If you're a tourist and unless you want service with a scowl, don't come to Bermuda, we clearly don't want your business.

A casino?

"Southlands developer: We would welcome a casino" is the title of an interesting article in yesterday's gazette.

Could this be a planted question based on a historically controversial subject that will stir up discussion and sell papers?  If so, how much of a factor will the religious community play this time around in attacking the very nature of any gambling other then church sanctioned bingo? 

Could it be a seed planted by the developer having come to the island with a preconception that a casino could (or would) be a part of their hotel?  Will Premier Brown announce that we're going to get a 'Special Development Order' style change in legislature to allow for a casino and woo the people into going along with the project?

Beyond all of these questions, one question will undoubtedly rise to the top. 

Should we have a casino?

For that question, which is most important? 

• The answer to the question?
• How the question is asked?  
• Who answers it?