Put tourism firstMay 4, 2011Dear Sir,I've been travelling to Bermuda since 1981, enjoying every bit and every minute of my yearly stays. I'm saddened to tell you that, after my visit last week, I'm not so sure I want to return. I was originally going to address this letter to Premier Cox, but felt it would just go by the wayside, so I'm erring on the side of hoping the media would be interested in my point of view.Perhaps in your Government's eagerness to “reinsure” the world, they seem to have forgotten the one mainstay of your glorious island tourism. A “secondary” industry does not mean a non-existent one. After reading last week's missives and the various comments from your Premier and your Ministers about service cuts, I'm both disturbed and disheartened to see your Government pitch everyone against each other in the harder economic times we face worldwide. There seems to be a major disconnect between your representatives and the people they represent. Pitching expats against locals and tourists against locals is truly not the way to a sound economy. Furthermore, the fact that Premier Cox doesn't understand that even a “symbolic” cut in pay for herself and her Ministers goes a long way is both disappointing and delusional symbols matter.Since I stay in a place which depends on a selling point of being steps from a ferry stop (Salt Kettle), imagine my dismay to find that the Pink Route was cut from 24 to 13 ferries and nothing on the weekends. Did the Government really think that, just before your high season, they should be cutting service that both tourists and locals depend on and enjoy? To add insult to injury, I was horrified to read Terry Lister's remarks last week in which it was apparently imminent that cruise ship passengers would be left at Dockyard and witness buses leaving half full to pick up local traffic who've had problems getting home. Because his careless remarks were picked up by USA Today and thus sent worldwide, he has almost single-handedly destroyed any possibility of increasing and improving the tourism situation. There are other ways to rework a budget besides crushing an industry that so many people still depend on for their livelihoods.As much as you've taken away the ambience of Front Street, with so much office space taking the place of wonderful stores like Trimingham's and Smith's (and using washed out beige in place of the colourful waterfront that once was), I still came. I still came, not only because I have a few friends on the Island, but also because seeing your waters from the plane was an immediate de-stressor, a Pavlovian response which has been vital to my well being for so many years.I implore the powers that be on the Island to remember how close you are to our Eastern seaboard to be able to travel two hours away to paradise is a gift. As people aren't travelling as much to Europe because of the economy, Bermuda is still a wonderful opportunity for a beautiful getaway. Instead of chipping away at tourism your Government should be making a concerted effort to keep us coming, perhaps partnering with the reinsurance companies they value so highly, to help advertise, in all media (print, audio and TV), the wonderfulness that is Bermuda.VIKKI WACHTELFlushing, New York