Night clubs and restaurants are closing at an alarming rate and businesses struggling to keep their head above water, according to the Chairman of the Restaurant and Night Club Division of the Chamber of Commerce, Philip Barnett.

And the only way to stem the tide is to make sure that more tourists come to Bermuda year round, said Mr. Barnett.

"It seems that at every meeting we have, somebody has closed down," he said. "People are struggling so badly right now, we are all trying to gauge whether everyone else is in the same boat.

"It is as if we almost hope somebody goes out of business so that there will be a bigger slice of the pie. What we want is a vibrant business where this does not happen."

He pointed to Club 40 and Bombay Bicycle closing and Le Figaro going bust as examples of the woes in the business.

Mr. Barnett said that more and more restaurants were having to rely on international business for their profits, and menus were changing to cater for the business traveller and the local business community.

"And he said that this would push the price of fare up as the quality of food for the business lunch was much higher - and more expensive - than the style of food wanted by the tourist who may be more money conscious.

Mr. Barnett said that, from an a-political point of view, problems with work permits came high on the list of worries for the sector.

"We feel that many should not have to go to the board," he said, stating that in an industry where there was a proven shortage of labour, having every single permit vetted was not logical. In the hospitality industry speed is imperative. We need somebody yesterday, hire them today and start them tomorrow."

He said that they are currently waiting between six and 12 weeks for full work permits and between one and six weeks for fast-track work permits.

"And that is just the time to be processed, let alone give us time to find someone from overseas," he said. "We would much prefer to have Bermudians in the job. If we interview someone, they can start straight away that day."

But he said Bermudians were looking at other lines of work, and shunning the hospitality industry.

He said that for a typical advert for a position for wait staff, it was normal not to get any local applicants. "I have never heard of more than two Bermudians apply for a single job."

Mr. Barnett, who is also the director and general manager of Pickled Onion, Hog Penny and Barracuda Grill, was at pains to point out that there were good people working in Immigration, but that something had to be done about not just the speed, but the cost of processing work permits.

"I would like to see a week turnaround, maybe for a probation work permit. But three months to produce a work permit is killing us. Maybe we are trying to change policy here, but the cost of fast-tracking all the time increases the cost by 50 percent for businesses, and that is a lot of money.

"Surely there are better ways to fill the government coffers, by say getting more people into the restaurants so they get their money that way."

Mr. Barnett also wanted to see the cost of doing business on the island controlled and said that Government rebates went a long way to help with this.

He pointed to the concessions given to hotels who have local entertainment who get relief on alcohol tax and said that extending this to restaurants and night clubs would be welcome.

"It is hard on Friday, when the Hamilton Princess happy hour not only drains customers from everywhere else in Hamilton, but also to know they are getting a concession on their taxes for this is difficult. They have a successful happy hour, and good for them. All we are asking for is a level playing field."

He said that the rebate given by Government on refurbishing restaurants had been a great success, with Cafe Lido and the Barracuda Grill evidence of this. He added: "Credit were credit is due, this has worked very well."

Another bug bear for this sector is overtime. Mr. Barnett said that unlike the retail sector, which hired mainly Bermudians, workers in restaurants could not make up extra hours of pay by working a second job - and the sector could not afford the cost of overtime pay.

He said the Chamber was in favour of the Employment Act and people needed to be treated fairly, but the issue could cripple business.

Another huge issue for the industry was entertainment for the restaurants and clubs.

"We must make Bermuda a viable place for tourists, not just for four months of the year, but all year round. With better shopping being offered by the stores, that is an incentive, but with better entertainment, we could do our part to make it a year round destination," said Mr. Barnett.

He said is sector was not in favour of abolishing work permits for entertainers, but wanted it to be easier to bring in different types of entertainment.

Mr. Barnett said: "If there is demand for popular-style music or a duet, we should be able to bring that in. We are not in the 40s and 50s anymore where calypso is the favourite style of music. This is 2003 and every jurisdiction has a variety of music, which can include calypso."