Recently third-quarter visitors arrival figures were announced via the Bermuda Tourism Authority. These figures showed that, year-on-year, our air arrivals had dropped. “Leisure air arrivals are flat when compared to 2014, down 0.80 per cent [939 visitors],” said a BTA press release dated November 12, 2015.

On the positive side, cruise ship Q3 visitors had risen by more than 12,000 persons — from 169,846 persons in 2014 to 182,283 in 2015.

Over the past year or so, the BTA has worked hard to not just grow arrival numbers but to grow awareness among Bermudians of the importance of tourism to Bermuda’s overall economy.

Michael Dunkley, the Premier, had this to say last Thursday about the hospitality industry: “We must be a choice for travellers again. Bermuda must be relevant to them and their lifestyles, so that coming to Bermuda is what fits with who they are. Bermuda must be a brand that stands out and is not confused with others.”

So, with the both the BTA and the Premier espousing why Bermudians must do their part to ensure that all of our visitors are fully embraced, it is shocking and disappointing that certain Bermudians are openly speaking negatively about cruise ship passengers. What is worse is that these sentiments have recently been openly expressed on the One Bermuda Alliance’s Facebook page.

“Did we not learn from the Breakaway that most if not all these people on board are cheap as hell,” wrote someone who goes by William “Skiff” Simpson.

“They come off for a drink just to get wi-fi. These aren’t the spenders we want.

“We are now selling cheap wares to cheap people. Dockyard is starting to look like a tourist village in the Caribbean ... cheap as dirt.”

There were 21 persons who “liked” to his comments, with another commenter, Alex Jones, stating: “Because even though they are cheap as hell they still do bring $243 each to Bermuda. Multiplied by 2,500 passengers on a ship, that’s $600,000 per week.”

What message are we sending to our potential visitors when they read from certain Bermudians that they have sentiments such as “these aren’t the spenders we want” and or “cheap as hell”?

These sorts of messages should have been addressed right away by the One Bermuda Alliance, our social media-loving Premier and Ray Charlton, chairman of West End Development Corporation (Wedco). Such xenophobic messages are counterproductive to the efforts being put out by the staff of the BTA, and Bermudians on a whole, to improve the image of Bermuda in the eyes of millions of potential visitors in North America.

Let us think for a minute how many persons are reliant on cruise ship passengers: Wedco, taxi drivers, minibus drivers, restaurants, beach concessions.

Then think about what insulting comments such as these will do to our tourism numbers. Speaking negatively of cruise ship tourists is, quite frankly, a threat to our economy.

By comparison, the Caribbean islands not only fully embrace their cruise ship passengers, but they actively seek to convert them into return air arrivals.

John Skippings, the former director of tourism and chief marketing officer for the Turks and Caicos Tourist Board from 1999 to 2003, said the following to the Caribbean News Network on November 4: “We must bear in mind that 80 per cent of cruise passengers think that cruising is an important vehicle for sampling destination areas to which they may return for a holiday. Which means that every effort must be made to make certain that they get the best possible sampling of the destination.”

Perhaps that is why the Caribbean region experienced a visitor rise of 5.3 per cent with a record 26.3 million visitors in 2014. As Bermudians, we all need to get on board with making our visitors, regardless of where they come from or how they have arrived, feel welcomed and valued. That is what encourages them to tell their friends and family to visit Bermuda.