ALMOST $50,000 was stolen from the Visitors Service Bureau (VSB) and an employee has been fired as a result of the theft, the understands.

Staff at the Chamber of Commerce ? the body responsible for the VSB ? yesterday admitted to conducting a probe of the operations, but declined to comment on the missing cash, or whether a staff member's employment was terminated.

Said Diane Gordon, executive-vice president at the Chamber of Commerce: "An internal investigation has taken place to do with our Visitors Service Bureau."

However close sources revealed to this paper that at least one female staff member was fired following "the discovery of a major breach of operating procedures" and the disappearance of $45,600.

It is understood that full provision for the missing monies has been incorporated into the financial statements through the VSB Statement of Revenues and Operations and that the Chamber is "pursuing steps at obtaining full recovery."

As part of its mandate, the Chamber of Commerce manages the operations of the VSB at its offices in Hamilton, St. George's, Dockyard and the airport. Additional desks exist at Number One and Number Six Sheds in Hamilton and Penno's Wharf in St. George's.

As described on the Chamber of Commerce web site the VSB stations exist to "... offer our visitors an enormous amount of information, be it directions to shops, restaurants, tourist sites, or where to go swimming and snorkelling, walking etc.

"The information that we supply can make the vacation a more memorable one and allows the visitor to see the island at its fullest. Our team is constantly making sure that they keep abreast of all changes or new shops and activities, so that the visitor is kept informed."