Forget tourism, it's all about business

FRIDAY, JAN. 20: Hamilton has to turn into a “metropolis” devoted to business and abandon tourism, commentator Larry Burchall suggested yesterday.

“We need to stop thinking of Bermuda as a tourist place,” he said, “it’s a business place and people want things at their fingertips.”

Mr Burchall was speaking as he and elder statesman and business tycoon Sir John Swan hosted a public meeting at City Hall aimed at hauling the island out of recession.

Mr Burchall said as the Bermuda economy changed and a foreign-dominated international business sector became the engine room of the Bermuda economy, social and racial frictions increased. By making Bermuda a residential and business hub for overseas investors the rest of Bermuda would be free of pressure on housing.

Mr Burchall said: “The best option is to make Hamilton a business centre where people could live and work. If you want, put buildings up to ten storeys – it goes against our nice tourism image, but would suit our new image.”

Sir John called for the Hamilton city limits to be extended to allow for increased development.

He said: “We need to make the city an attractive place so condominiums and large size complexes can be built.

Sir John said the city state of Singapore had redeveloped its waterfront with a showpiece hotel and casino.

He said: “Singapore sent a very clear message that that it was serious about tourism. Their hotel and casino paid for itself in two-and-a-half years.”

Mr Burchall said that – unlike the US and Europe, where government had pitched in to help recovery – the private sector would have to take the lead role.

He added that tourism had been in decline since the 1980s, with international business and financial services achieving primacy around 1994 in “a seismic shift” in the culture of the country.

Support role

Mr Burchall said that, prior to that, Bermudians and overseas workers had tended to work together – but the boom in overseas business meant that Bermudians took on a support role.

He added: “The growth was not driven by Bermudians, it was driven by bringing in non-Bermudians. If the economy depended on Bermudians, it wouldn’t be anywhere near where it is, even in its present depressed state.”

Sir John added: “We have got to stop this decline which is occurring – we’re not going to do that with cutting off work permits for people who wash pots or do landscaping.”

And he called for an easing off of restrictions of right of residence rules for foreigners and the 60/40 ownership rule which guarantees Bermudian majority ownership in some areas of business.

He added that tax breaks for the wealthy to bring large yachts and planes to the island would encourage investment, as would permission for personal staff to accompany rich would-be residents.

Sir John said: “We need to get capital in Bermuda and that will only come when people have the right to look after their capital. They won’t come if their capital is threatened and there are work permit restrictions. They need to feel comfortable.”

Mr Burchall said critics of the pair’s proposals accused them of “just talking business, money” but he insisted that both were “acutely aware” of emotional and racial issues surrounding the issues and wanted only to ensure that the Bermuda economy thrived for the benefit of all.

One member of the audience said that he feared the proposals were “elitist”, but Mr Burchall and Sir John said that foreign capital was needed to help provide work for Bermudians and keep the entire economy healthy.