Longtime activist: 'Privatise tourism now'

AS Bermuda potentially faces the worst year for tourist arrivals in the last half century, leading local tourism activist Tony Brannon has some advice on how we can turn things around for the island, which pioneered the field of modern resort tourism. In an interview with the Mid-Ocean News this week Mr. Brannon talked about Bermuda's fall from grace, and how privatising our tourism industry and introducing gaming could get Bermuda back on the map.

Mr. Brannon is no stranger to the hospitality trade, having been involved in one form or another since he was a teenager. He earned a spot in the prestigious hotel management programme at Ivy League university Cornell and took over his father's successful 40 Thieves nightclub following his 1976 graduation. In the three intervening decades, he has seen Bermuda ride the ups and downs of the tourism roller coaster. He believes understanding our past is crucial if we are to fix our ailing tourism product.

"Premier Dr. Brown keeps saying Bermudians needs to know their history," he said. "Well, it's not just about ancient history and 200-year-old history – there is such a thing as 30-year-old history. And that history speaks of a labour movement and a political movement 30 years ago that drastically affected tourism, which has never fully recovered. The reality is some of the people who are now running the show were part of the problem or agitation 30 years ago that took place at some of these hotels. You want to get honest and have a Big Conversation? I'm all for a Big Conversation but it isn't just a one way street. If we get honest and we get real, we can get past all this."

Mr. Brannon believes one reason visitors are not flocking to Bermuda is because service is lacking.

"People talk about the service standards in Bermuda not being any good," he said. "They say generally across the board it is not that great. It's okay to talk about having a platinum product, but if the service isn't that great then it doesn't matter how nice your product looks. That's not to say there is no great service in Bermuda, because there is, but by and large you are only as good as your weakest link. As soon as you run into one person that has a problem it puts a bad taste in people's mouths. I don't know of any hotel property in Bermuda that hasn't been affected by this.

"Even simple things most wait staff have problems with. You go to any restaurant here in Bermuda and ask what the soup of the day is and I guarantee you most of the time the answer will be, 'I will have to check on that.'

"I've eaten in restaurants here in Bermuda and you put your hand up for the waiter to come over, and the guy is just standing around doing nothing and looks at you and says 'That's not my station.' To which I respond: 'Well excuse me, I am here in your restaurant and want to be served'. I will add that bad service is not necessarily the fault of the person serving you. It's the fault of bad management. If management is not there paying attention to every detail and helping to get these people to the level they need to be, then it is management's fault. And they need to do their job without interference from some stroppy union steward that comes along saying, 'you can't tell my people to do this or that.' It's not about telling them to do this, that or the other, it's about instructing them in the art of fine service. And the art of fine service means cross-utilisation. This kind of business of 'you can't do that' or 'it's not my station' is outdated. We've lost our way and our tourism house has crumpled. Literally dozens of hotels and guest houses have closed their doors."

Mr. Brannon points to a statement made by famed hotelier Bill Marriott with regards to Bermuda and noted: "People don't like to hear this but people need to be reminded of what Bill Marriott said when he closed his hotel and pulled out of Bermuda. What he said was: 'If I had to live my life over again I'd do everything the same except own a hotel in Bermuda.' That is a very damning statement coming from one of the top hoteliers in the world, who owns one of the biggest hotel chains."

Mr. Brannon said that in 1998, with a new political party in power, he had hoped for a positive change for Bermuda's tourism industry.

"I can tell you I was not happy with the UBP," he said. "They had no leadership and no direction. Everyone saw they were like deer dazed in the headlights of an oncoming car. The Progressive Labour Party (PLP) sailed on through which was a great thing for Bermuda. It was a momentous occasion and I was looking forward to a breath of fresh air. But it just became this thing of, 'It's our turn now. This is for us.' It became an exclusive club, and has not been inclusive for all Bermudians. What we need is hope back in Bermuda. The PLP won in 1998 and it's 2009 now. The PLP has had 10 years to try and turn things around for tourism."

Mr. Brannon points out that a third of a billion dollars has been spent since 1998 to try and attract visitors without much positive effect, and with the economic collapse around the world and a lack of cruise ships in Hamilton, things do not appear to be getting better anytime soon.

"They have thrown close to a billion dollars at tourism (in the past 20 years) only to see us have the least amount of hotels that we've ever had in our history in 2009," explained Mr. Brannon. "It's all well and good to say Tuckers Point this and Newstead that and Fairmont have upgraded – well you would hope that the handful of people that are left might think about upgrading. If they didn't they wouldn't be around and they wouldn't exist either. People wouldn't come at all.

"Now that the world is literally on its knees financially and the speed of the financial collapse is earth shattering the reverberations are going to be staggering for Bermuda going forward."

Mr. Brannon has again called for an independent tourism authority, separate from government and explained: "Bermuda has been very good at shooting itself in the foot with regards to tourism. Both the UBP and the PLP have run it very poorly. We need to privatise it. Dr. Brown keeps talking about ushering in the platinum period. The platinum period of Bermuda tourism existed in the 1960s through the 1970s. Since then we've dumped all over it. We're not in a platinum period, we are back in the stone age as far as Bermuda tourism is concerned. Whoop-de-do, we have a couple of nice properties now. It's sad. Tourists need more things to do.

"Poor Belcario Thomas can't even build a small wooden structure at Warwick Long Bay to give the tourists something fun to do. I have to disagree with my good friend and environmental activist Stuart Hayward on this one. There is a need to have some fun on this island, and I think a nice cool little beach bar down there would be great.

"We've had every kind of advertising agency in New York that you can shake a stick at try to promote Bermuda. They all talk on Madison Avenue and they say 'those people in Bermuda can never make up their minds.' One minute it's this agency, the next another. One minister wants to say 'Let Yourself Go', another wants to say 'Feel The Love.' It's so disjointed.

"We need to privatise tourism. We can keep the Government arm in it, but the actual management of the tourism authority would be taken away from the political arena. That's the first step. The next step is to come up with a business plan that we could all buy into that is transparent with specific goals. We also have to keep in mind how difficult this financial climate is. With clear goalposts and guidelines as to what the advantages are to do business in Bermuda and incentives to open a hotel in Bermuda, people will come. We need to open up the gaming and entertainment side of things. We need those so that these hotels can have another avenue for generating revenue and providing extra fun for the guests. This is key."

Mr. Brannon said Bermuda needs to be known as sexy again and added: "If you are going to create a new tourist product you need to have the buzz out there. This is not an exclusive playground for only the rich. If you want to be really successful you have to play to the wannabes as well. They are the ones who will throw a lot more money around having a bloody good time on holiday versus the people who just sit up in a nice place and chill out for a few days. They have great word of mouth. Word of mouth is key."

Mr. Brannon cites the Caribbean island of Barbados as an example of an island whose tourism industry is thriving on word of mouth, along with their advertising campaigns.

"In the United Kingdom they have a great word of mouth about Barbados. If Bermuda can figure out how to get half as good at putting the word of mouth up to that level in the UK and America and we can generate that kind of buzz of what genuine people say versus an ad agency throwing out hype. Then we will start to see tourism turning around. I think we are 25 years away from that if we do it right and want to start talking about a platinum period. We can get back to the kinds of tourism numbers we once saw and the success we once had, but it will take time. I just hope we can come together to do it. With all sincerity I hope that Dr. Brown will take note of just how far we have fallen and do the right thing."

Mr. Brannon is very critical of the costly Bermuda Music Festival, which cost taxpayers $3 million and allegedly attracted 1500 visitors.

"If the Bermuda Music Festival was to be run as a business, it would never happen – you can't make any money. Bringing in acts like Beyonce and paying them millions of dollars to perform a few songs is insanity. Unless you have a concert hall the size of Madison Square Garden where you can have 20,000 people paying $100 per ticket to cover the cost, it does not make sense. You have to scale the cost of the event accordingly to the size of Bermuda.

"We have to ask ourselves: is it really doing anything for tourism or is this just an ego festival for a handful of politicians and their mates?

"They certainly pulled of the most expensive music festival out of any Caribbean island ever in the face of a dire recession barrelling down the tunnel. At the end of the day when people are hurting they won't give a damn about Beyonce. They will want to know 'Have I got a job and where is the next dollar coming from?' and 'Are these hotels staying in business?' The time is now for people to insist we privatise tourism."

Mr. Brannon looks forward to the day when a 'tourism activist' is no longer needed.

"A lot of people hear me continually criticise," he said. "And I have been a tourism critic. And I think rightfully so. Am I tired of being a tourism critic? The answer is you're damn right. I am so tired of it, but until I see us turning the corner together, I can't give up. If this financial crisis doesn't get people really vocal to shake things up, then I hate to think what's going to befall the people of Bermuda. I would like to think we can all come together and do the right thing for this country."

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DALE BUTLER'S CASINO FORUM on Wednesday JANUARY 28th, 2009 at St. Mary's Church Hall in Warwick at 8 pm

Dale Butler asked me to participate, but I am off island at present and not able to attend. I did say I would submit a simple plan for Casino Ganing in Bermuda. What needs to happen is action: not next month, next year BUT IMMEDIATE ACTION. Bermuda Tourism is in dire trouble. How many times have I yelled from the rooftops about this? How many newspaper stories or Internet columns do we need to shake Bermuda into action and change ???

BERMUDA CASINO/GAMING PLAN:
•  Grant all Resort Hotels full gaming licenses
•  Restaurants & Bars and guesthouses allowed up to 12 machines each
•  All Resort Hotels with a gaming license must provide proper live entertainment
•  Bermudians can participate by either being a registered guest of the hotel OR by buying a membership card
•  A scalable tax structure to allow the casinos to get up and running. All hotels will be able to use the hotel concession tax relief to build casinos.
•  Enact this policy by March 1 st , to allow for the hotels to benefit for the 2009 season.

It really is very simple. Bermuda tourism is staring down the barrel of an economic abyss like never before. It is time for an immediate bailout plan for tourism and casino gaming must be put on the table forthwith.
It is a mistake to allow Cruise Ships to open their nightclubs/shops/casinos in port. It is NOT DONE in any other place cruise ships go. Bermuda needs to protect our on island business and indeed grow it. Allowing Cruise Ships to open their amenities in port is plain economic suicide for local business.
I said my PLAN would be simple. Tony Brannon

RESEARCH LINKS
http://www.ac.cc.md.us/~terryr/casino/index.htm http://www.umac.mo/iscg/Publications/InternalResources/A%20Sustainable%20Casino%20Business%20Model%20in%20Macau.pdf http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2004_4th/Nov04_CosmoVegas.html http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=gov3terminal&L=3&L0=Home&L1=Media+Center&L2=Speeches&sid=Agov3&b=terminalcontent&f=text_2008-03-18_cas_tes&csid=Agov3

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Tony is reflecting on President elect Barack Obama's brilliant victory and laments how divisive and vindictive Bermuda's leader is. Bermuda needs a leader like Obama. Sadly we have seen Dr. Ewart Brown act more like a dictator than a leader. His actions speak louder than words which, for the most part, ring hollow and make many in Bermuda cringe. His insults like “white people will feel uncomfortable” or “we are getting even”, “payback” etc are all distressing. Barack Obama has brought Americans together. Dr. Ewart Brown has divided Bermuda.

It too is time to move Bermuda forward into the 21 st century and not have a leader behave as badly as the “colonialists” he so despises. Dr. Ewart Brown “apes his oppressors”.

Will someone please emerge to lead Bermuda into the 21 st Century for all Bermudians?
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READ TIM HODGSON's latest Mid Ocean News Editorial: When The Bubble Bursts

Sir John Swan: – Save Hamilton – bring in gambling

By Tim Smith

Former Premier Sir John Swan yesterday said the legalisation of casinos could help stop Hamilton becoming a ghost town.

Sir John gave his backing to a feasibility study into gambling and a possible national lottery in Bermuda — although there has been a mixed reaction from the rest of the community.

The AME and Seventh-day Adventist churches have reiterated their anti-gambling stances, with AME pastor and Progressive Labour Party branch chairman Rev. Leroy Bean criticising Government for failing to garner public opinion before spending $180,000 of taxpayers' money on the Innovation Group survey.

Support for gambling has come from Chamber of Commerce boss Philip Barnett and entertainer Tony Brannon, who say it could boost Bermuda's struggling tourism industry.

Sir John said relaxing gambling laws had been discussed during his own premiership, but at the time nobody wanted to talk about it, while back then the opposition from churches was more fierce.

"I'm in favour of it because I think that could do something for the waterfront development in Hamilton," Sir John told The Royal Gazette .

"Hamilton has been affected by cruise boats, that's impacting. What we don't want to see is Hamilton become a ghost town day or night, particularly night time.

"My hope is that it will get a fair hearing and it will be viewed in the context of the world we live in by the ordinary person and leaders of the community, in particular the church."

Sir John said the church could be consulted over possible restrictions to safeguard society from the pitfalls of gambling.

He added: "I like the approach that's been used — an investigative process to look at the possibilities. Bermudians should participate, particularly if it's a transparent process.

"The economic world is changing very fast. It doesn't look like it's beneficial to us as much as it was in the past. We want to restore one of the pillars of our economy: tourism."

Mr. Barnett said gambling could be part of a complete re-look at the tourism product rather than a silver bullet on its own, as some have described it.

"I'm not advocating we move to a New Jersey- or Las Vegas-style gambling structure with gigantic casinos," he said.

"The style of gaming we would look at would be a little less about the clang, clang, clang of slot machines, but more social games like blackjack, roulette, craps and poker. That would encourage groups of people to congregate and talk together.

"It's important these gaming areas are done in a very classy way to encourage groups to stay at larger hotels. That would be a component of their vacation.

"Our problem in Bermuda is when it rains there's not a lot to do anymore."

Mr. Brannon called for pro-gambling legislation to be rushed through as quickly as possible. He spoke to this newspaper on the telephone from Aruba, where he said he was at a beach tennis tournament and enjoying a buzz currently missing in Bermuda.

"The place is rocking; the place is happening; Bermuda has long lost that," said Mr. Brannon.

"In Bermuda, Hamilton is dead and the hotels are dead. If they were smart, by the 2009 season, Fairmont Southampton and Elbow Beach would have a casino."

He said Government should give tax incentives in the initial period to encourage people to set up casinos.

Rev. Bean, of Transfiguration Ministries and the PLP's Hamilton East branch, said: "I view gambling as unscriptural. I don't believe Government or anyone else should basically promote it.

"Personally, I believe that they need to first of all have more community meetings, inform the public exactly what's transpiring, before they even make the initiative to use Government funds.

"I do understand that Government basically is representing the people. I believe that they need to respect the people before a decision like that is made. To not do that is to do an injustice to the people."

Rev. Bean had been picked by the PLP's St. George's South branch as a candidate in last year's General Election, only for Philip Perinchief to be selected instead to make an ultimately unsuccessful challenge for the seat.

AME presiding elder Rev. Malcolm Eve said he did not know of any proposed protests, but added: "Our stand is what we gave following our annual conference. The stand we have against that (gaming) doesn't change."

Jeffrey Brown, president of the Bermuda Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, said: "We recognise we are in a war. This is not a war on terror. It is not the so-called bad people that we are fearful of, it is the silence of so-called good people.

"The task of the church is to strengthen the moral fibre of the community. It is to empower families, support schools, and pray for Government leaders. It opposes activities and lifestyles which threaten to erode sanity of the mind, safety of the society, and sanctity of the family. Therefore drugs, violence, and perverse lifestyles are opposed by the church.

"While the Seventh-day Adventist Church vehemently opposes gambling in all its forms, it is not against an open forum where gambling can be defined and discussed."

October 19th 2008

Just like the G8 are mapping out a new FINANCIAL MAP for the world, which we will all have to abide by….no more economic borders, possible elimination of ALL Tax Havens and Shelters….so too must Bermuda come up with a new plan to avoid annihilation.
Politics in Bermuda together with the antics of the BIU in the 70's/80's etc have ruined our Tourism Industry.
I have yet to see a plan For Bermuda Tourism that is BOLD, VISIONARY and shared with ALL the people of Bermuda.

Now that the “Perfect Storm” is upon our tiny 21 sq mile island, it is time for all Bermudians to come together. Failure to bury the hatchets, no matter what the issues, will see Bermuda suffer untold problems. The divisive leadership, greed and excess as displayed by some of our current politicians must end, or we MUST replace them to save our island.

Like French President Sarkozy said yesterday, to get ALL the Euro nations to agree on a way forward is remarkable, but when you are all collectively staring down the barrel of a gun threatened with financial ruin, it is amazing how people will get together. Without a stable financial world all else fails and chaos reigns.

Bermuda has watched over 50 hotel properties close whilst the PLP/UBP and BIU fight over issues, distort reality, play the race card etc etc. It is time for the MADNESS to stop. Either we come together immediately or we face certain ruin. The People of Bermuda must not let a handful of men/women ruin our island.

It matters not who brings us together, but that we are brought together.

CASINOS

Bermuda needs to loosen up and allow Casinos in so that hotels have a profit center to fund entertainment and other activities for the guests. We have a religious community that lobbies Bermuda politicians against casinos and yet they operate TAX FREE and have BINGO, TITHING and all manner of sucking cash out of their believers….It is time for the hypocrisy to end.

The Summit to stop the Plummet
http://www.midoceannews.bm/siftology.midoceannews/Article/article.jsp?articleId=7d887c330080000&sectionId=60

On talk radio on Friday August 15th 2008

There were some suggestions that a casino be set up in the dockyard to cater to the cruise ships ?????
Presently the Cruise Ship have got their cake and are eating it too !!!!!! Rumors abound that Dr. Brown and his Cabinet are looking at Darrell's Island for a single casino in Bermuda ??
In my opinion…
The most important thing we need to do with GAMING and CASINOS is to give the RESORT HOTELS Gaming licenses.
It is the resort hotels that need this in order to offer more to their guests and help them be profitable.
If you only have ONE casino on an island it means the hotels will still be boring, have no entertainment etc.
To put it on an island means you have to get on a boat…these are all hassles and do not DO ANYTHING for the hotels sector.
It is the HOTELS, everyone, that need to offer gaming. HOTELS HOTELS HOTELS. This will provide fun for guests and new employment for Bermudians.
The size of each casino could be scaled to the size of the resort, and small properties could have a “Machines Room” to provide fun for guests and generate another revenue stream.
Also allowing a government in the gaming business is just NOT where we need to go.
Government needs to allow a framework for the Tourism Industry to be successful, just like they have created a framework for International Business to be successful. Then we, in tourism, can do what we do best.

Government can then tackle the issues a government is elected for:
Providing great education, providing great public transportation, providing a better police force to restore law and order, Looking after the welfare of our seniors with proper pension support/healthcare etc.
To précis:

We need a Bermuda Tourism Authority:

•  Government to provide a 20 year Tax Holiday for Tourism related Business development/upgrades

•  Government authorizes the Bermuda Tourism Authority to issue gaming licenses to all its Hotel/Resort members tied to each property putting on properly presented entertainment. The casino tax – separate from the TAX Holiday will be 5% for the first 5 years, 10% for the next 5 years and 20% for the next 10 years.

If Government really does the right thing, they would also keep Morgan's Point and allow the Bermuda Tourism Authority to find a SUPERSTAR developer to build the greatest resort ever built. Again for want of repeating this….ATLANTIS saved the Bahamas…..

Bermuda needs to think about what is the right thing to do with MORGAN'S POINT….It surely isn't to bail out a bunch of businessmen who got objected to by thousands of Bermudians at SOUTHLANDS is it ?

A Profile on Bermuda's ruthless activist

Here is a man (Tony Brannon) who never seems to change his battle plan. Trenches are not on his agenda -- they are for the weak hearted and those who look for cover. This crusader seldom deviates from his constant barrage of assaults on those who don't come up to his expectations. No rear guard, no protection on his left or right flank, he is without a doubt, a man with a mission. A self-styled John Wayne with big intentions, the more powerful the adversary, greater the urge for him to tackle his opponent with the gusto of a warrior in full fledge battle.

There are however those who feel he is a little 'over the top' with his incessant broadsides against the government and would never be seen close to him for fear, by association they would be recognized as a supporter in his many campaigns. This doesn't disturb Tony and he admits a lot of those who pat him on the back and congratulate his efforts, could also be back stabbers.

So why does he take it upon himself to grapple with Bermuda 's highest administration which most men would only dream of doing? He did, at one time, have a stake in the island but this he sold off probably due to the uncertainty and questionable stability of the island's future. But like Sir George Somers, his heart is here and he has returned to re-claim his position as Bermuda 's number one missile launcher and those who get in the line of fire can expect repeated bombardments.

Do I agree with his flagrant onslaughts? Of course not but I do admire his tenacity and his struggles to right the wrongs. Tony is passionate in his belief that a man or woman, if they wish to serve in government, must be above reproach........excellent reason for Bermuda to have a Code of Conduct in place!

In conclusion, in our hour long discussion over coffee, we touched on various subjects such as religion. I won't dwell on this matter, as politics was his thrust and he doesn't leave any stone unturned -- well wired -- well versed -- ready to take on all comers -- this is Tony. A fascinating man with a love for Bermuda !

Check out these links:

www.ubp.bm
www.plp.bm
www.politics.bm
www.zeitgeistmovie.com