The Bermuda Chamber of Commerce has cancelled its planned Concierge Day trade show because of a lack of interest.

Chamber president Ronnie Viera told The Royal Gazette yesterday that the Chamber could not justify going ahead with the event at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess on April 2, given the costs involved and the low level of registrations.

He added that the Chamber had applied for sponsorship from the Bermuda Tourism Authority — however it was not due to hear whether that had been approved until nearly two weeks after the event.

One fed-up would-be exhibitor, who asked not to be named, said: “It’s very depressing that the concierges apparently can’t be bothered to see what’s available to their guests and that the BTA is so bureaucratic that it can’t decide on whether to fund an event until after it has happened.

“Apparently we’re still not serious about reviving tourism.”

Those who had signed up for the event were sent notification this week that the event had been cancelled.

“We have cancelled Concierge Day primarily due to a low number of people registered to participate,” Mr Viera said yesterday.

“The event was held for the first time last year, targeted to hotel concierge staff so that they could see and experience the various events and locations around Bermuda, with the obvious benefit being that they would be in a better position to suggest ideas to visitors.

“Clearly there are costs associated in holding the event which would have been incurred by the Chamber, sponsors and those vendors which were due to take part in the trade show.

“However, given the low numbers involved, we could not justify going ahead. We had applied for event sponsorship from the BTA however, we were not due to hear back on that until April 15.”

A spokesman for the Bermuda Tourism Authority said: “We are disappointed that the event was cancelled but understand the cancellation as it shows fiscal responsibility.

“We’re appreciative of the Chamber’s sensitivity to not having the BTA, or businesses who were to participate in the vendor showcase, spend funds on an event that wasn’t drawing the anticipated audience.

“There needed to be a minimal level of commitment on the part of concierges to make this happen and it wasn’t there. We do look forward to partnering with them in the future.”