If gambling was permitted in Bermuda in the way that Tony Brannon would like, then there would have been a book open at the Hamilton City Casino setting odds and taking bets on how long he was likely to last on the Tourism Board.This newspaper predicted that Mr Brannon, in his persona as tourism gadfly, would have a torrid time on the Board, and that the Tourism Ministry would find him difficult to deal with.Now, less than six months since he was appointed, he has been dismissed.That’s a shame. His appointment was a bold move which seemed to show that the Government wanted to embrace people who were critical of past policies, and for all his shoot from the lip tendencies, Mr Brannon certainly speaks for many in the tourism and entertainment sectors.And many of his criticisms, minus the hyperbole, were and are valid. Bermuda’s tourism industry is in crisis and needs help now. So Mr Brannon’s stated frustration with retreats, think tanks, facilitators and more time being taken to write reports when the problems and some of the answers seem obvious is understandable.It is worrying that he believes that he may have been sacked because he was suspected of leaking discussions held at a tourism retreat is also worrying, not least because none of the ideas that were published were very new.But if the Ministry believes that the best way to plug leaks to the media is to fire those they suspect of being responsible, then there won’t be many people left who are willing to help tourism, including many who would not dream of talking to the media.