Bermuda’s Travel Industry Feels the Pinch of Ongoing Crisis

Bermuda’s tourism figures are falling at a greater rate than almost every Caribbean island, with only volcano-ravaged Montserrat reporting a worse decline, according to a report out this week, writes Clare O’Connor.

This is despite Bermuda outspending every island nation bar the Bahamas on promoting tourism. Data released by the market research arm of Business Monitor International compares tourism figures across 13 Caribbean countries, with Bermuda included in the analysis.

In the first quarter of 2008 –the most recent comparison figures available- Bermuda reported a year-on-year decline in arrivals of 4.9 percent. This puts the island second only to fellow British Overseas Territory Montserrat, a small island with a gross domestic product per capita of $3,400, which reported a drop of 5.7 percent.

Bermuda’s arrivals decline was worse than that of Martinique and Belize, the only two other Caribbean-area countries reporting a drop in tourism figures in early 2008. Many island nations that often compete with Bermuda for tourist dollars showed comparatively strong figures, with Antigua and Barbuda’s first-quarter arrivals up by 16.8 percent and St. Lucia’s up by 17.1 percent.

These statistics come on the heels of this week’s Department of Tourism announcement that third-quarter arrivals are down 22 percent year on the year. On Tuesday, Premier and Tourism Minister Ewart Brown told The Royal Gazette that a decline in cruise ship arrivals and the global economic crisis are to blame for lackluster figures.