For the past year, the staff at the Bermuda Tourism Authority have had to endure unbalanced stories that have led to a distorted narrative of our organisation.

We have watched team members attacked and bullied online for promoting the work they and the organisation are doing.

We have had to constantly remind members of the public: “The sky is not falling; we are doing just fine.”

Our hard work in our respective areas has been dismissed and ignored because of the salacious claims, fuelling headlines that the BTA staff are being bullied and mistreated, which couldn’t be farther from the truth.

It is so hard to understand the fixation to tear down our organisation; an organisation that plays a crucial role in supporting a vital economic pillar of our economy, consisting of Bermudians who show up every day to work for Bermuda.

But enough is enough.

Staff working at the BTA are tired and disheartened by the unhealthy obsession with our organisation.

Instead of focusing on the positive work we are doing to get visitors to this island, or all the work to support, train and elevate our industry through BTA programmes such as AnchorBDA, this focus to “bring down the BTA” and people within it is unsound.

We are tired of the political interference and personal agendas, and want to focus on the work needed to support the country we are proud to serve.

Recently, the tourism minister took an oath to lawfully perform the functions of his office and be a true and faithful minister.

Consistently attacking the organisation you should be supporting to help advance Bermuda and tourism with unsupported claims is not being a truthful and faithful minister.

Staff describe former employees encouraging them to share any concern they had with the tourism minister, as he did not like the previous chairman or present leadership team and wants them all gone.

While this was a practice encouraged by a few former workers, this is not what the staff want to practise in our organisation. It is eroding trust and is not the way we want to see internal matters dealt with.

Why is the minister responsible for tourism trying to tear down the organisation whose activities attract visitors to the island?

Why are staff being sought, encouraged and recruited to make disparaging claims to the minister and tourism board about the BTA?

Why is the minister wasting money by having the board do a secondary cultural assessment instead of allowing our organisation to follow the recommendations from the first cultural assessment?

We do not understand the personal motives and agendas we have observed over the past several months, but what we want to make clear is that what is being claimed and stated about our organisation is not something several of us have experienced while working at the BTA.

We enjoy our jobs! We love working to make a difference for Bermuda, and believe in the work we are doing.

We have the support of our managers — some of whom are members on the leadership team — for our programmes, initiatives and activations.

We do not want to minimise the experience of any staff member who previously worked at our organisation.

But you have a dedicated group of people whose experience at the BTA has not been what has been portrayed by a small few. We stand in support of each other, our leader Tracy Berkeley and the leadership team.

To the tourism minister, Bermuda needs you to support tourism, not destroy it!

To the BTA board, Bermuda needs you to support the Bermuda Tourism Authority, not advance personal agendas!

To the people of Bermuda, we are here working for Bermuda! You have committed people who are doing great work.

We look forward to continuing to work with our stakeholders and community to benefit Bermuda!

• Inside The Authority is a Bermuda Tourism Authority employee who asked to remain anonymous because of fear of retaliation for speaking out. Seethis article for the tourism ministry’s response to allegations about Owen Darrell, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport

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