Tourism contributing less to Bermuda's economy

A decline in tourists last year saw more than 150 jobs cut in tourism-related industries.

Jobs in tourism fell by four per cent, a Government report has revealed.

Employment in tourism and hospitality-related business fell from 3,797 jobs in 2008 to 3,645 in 2009, according to the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) Report.

Figures released yesterday also show a dip in tourism’s contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Last year tourism contributed $231 million — four per cent, to Bermuda’s GDP.

In 2008, the sector’s contribution was 4.5 per cent.

Net output by tourism establishments last year — comprising hotels, restaurants, travel agencies and passenger transport businesses — equated to $680 million, of which $231 million was earned directly from tourists.

The TSA report states 559,042 tourists arrived in Bermuda and visitors spent $350 million, a drop of $75 million from 2008.

In contrast, Bermuda residents heading overseas spent $407 million on foreign travel.

Government spent $30 million on tourism services.

In return, tourism contributed $197 million — or 21 per cent, to the 2009 Current Account Revenue.

The Tourism Satellite Account was conceived by the World Tourism Organization as a standard by which countries around the globe can measure tourism’s contribution to their economy.

The 2009 Bermuda TSA Report said that while the percentage of jobs in the island’s economy remained steady at nine per cent, employment in the hospitality industry was hit by fewer tourists.

“A decline in visitors during the year resulted in job losses by workers in the industry. Lower demand for tourism services led employers to cut operational costs and scale back the number of industry workers,” the report states.

“Bermudians and expatriate workers alike felt the impact of job cuts.

“Despite this, the Bermudian share of total employment in the tourism industry was unchanged at 70 per cent in 2009. The tourism industry remained the number one private sector employer of Bermudians.”

Bermuda residents also travelled less, spending an estimated $407 million on foreign travel — $51 million less than in 2008.

Government spent $4 million less on tourism promotion, marketing and related professional services in 2009.

Patrice Minors, Minister of Business Development and Tourism, said:  “Without a doubt, tourism is an important sector of the global economy. Tourism is our second largest industry, behind international business.

“Tourism remained the number one private sector employer of Bermudians — this includes restaurants, hotel properties, etc. This represents 70 per cent of our labour force.”

The Minister said: “Some of these stats show a slight drop from the 2008 data. Obviously, Bermuda has not been immune from feeling the pinch of the economic slowdown brought about by the global financial crisis.”