Letter: Gambling ban makes it tougher to sell cruises to Bermuda

Dear Sir,

I have been following with interest, the debate regarding the possibility of allowing cruise ships to open their casinos while in port in Bermuda. As a travel retailer, I wanted to share my perspective with your readers.

World Travel Holdings (WTH) Is North America’s largest provider of cruise vacations. World Travel Holdings’ owned brands Include CruisesOnly, Cruises.com, Rooms.com, Vacation Outlet, CruiseOne, Cruises Inc., and Villas of Distinction. WTH’s portfolio of licensed partner brands Includes BJ’s Travel, Orbitz Cruises, Priceline,com Cruises, Delta SkyMiles Cruises, American Air1ines Cruises, continental.com cruises, and many others.

Our commitment to Bermuda is very tangible. Every year we commit to purchase a large amount of staterooms on a number of cruise lines with Bermuda itineraries. This means we pay for them whether we sell them or not. We do this because we believe in cruising as a vacation option and we believe in Bermuda as a great cruise destination.

However, our task of selling these staterooms is more challenging because our customers are unable to gamble while in Bermuda. A section of our client base tells us that this is important to them and they won’t consider a Bermuda cruise while the casinos must close. These guests include some of our most affluent clients who are choosing to cruise elsewhere.

My view is that permitting gambling on cruise ships offers Bermuda the following advantages:

• Broadens the appeal of Bermuda as a cruise destination;

• Will help attract a more affluent clientele who will spend more In Bermuda;

• Has no negative social impact on Bermuda as only cruise ship passengers can choose to gamble.

Our clients tell us that after a busy day of touring the island, they generally return to the ships in the early evening. Because of this, I can’t see how allowing casinos to open on ships could have a negative impact on the local economy. In fact, greater demand and more affluent cruise passengers can only benefit Bermuda.

Thank you for allowing me to add my perspective, I look forward to many more years of successfully promoting cruise tourism to Bermuda!

Brad Tolkin

Co-Chairman and Co-CEO, World Travel Holdings, Port Washington, NY.