Bermuda tourism endured one of its most turbulent years in a long time after hurricane Fabian shut down some major hotels, the stormy departure of the Director of Tourism, an international row over phoney pictures, and air visitors continuing to plummet while overall arrivals are up.

Several big hotels changed hands, with American businessman Clifford Schorer completing the purchase of Sonesta Beach Resort in June, Bermudian John Jefferis' highly controversial acquisition of Stonington Beach Hotel, and news that an international consortium was given the go-ahead to transform Club Med into a hotel, housing and arts complex.

The big story of the year was Hurricane Fabian in September, which forced the Island's biggest hotel, the Fairmont Southampton, and Sonesta Beach, to close until Spring for major repairs.

The hurricane also shut down the Airport for four days, making a major dent in efforts to drive up air arrivals.

The 2001 season was a write-off after the September 11 attacks, so 2002 had to improve on that or it would have been a disaster.

By the end of the third quarter of this year, overall visitor arrival figures for 2003 were up 1.9 percent on 2002 at 409,576, driven on by a huge 23 percent increase in cruise passengers.

With the benchmark of air arrivals, however, there was continuing worrying news, with numbers for the year to date off 7.1 percent at 213,300.

There were major developments on hotel ownership, when Mr. Schorer's Southampton Beach Resort purchased Sonesta from Aetna Insurance. Mr. Schorer plans to build 44 townhouses, 16 cottages, a new restaurant and tennis courts.

In Julyrevealed that after former Elbow Beach general manager Mr. Jefferis was selected to run Bermuda College's Stonington Hotel.

Mr. Jefferis had managed to radically renegotiate the terms of the deal, saving himself millions of dollars in rent, more than doubling the lease from 21 years to 50, and obtaining an almost two acre plot of oceanfront land that he was explicitly told was not on the table when he won the contract.

Tourism Minister Renee Webb defended the contract as "sound and fair" and Bermuda College President Michael Orenduff was reportedly censured by the college for having the audacity to criticise the deal in .

Businessman Kevin Petty, who recently bought the Belmont, was still in protracted talks to buy out the ailing Newstead Hotel.

In what could be a highly significant development, insurance giant XL Capital sought permission from the Ministry of Finance to invest in the Belmont to ensure it had accommodation for some of its staff.

Finally, after more than a decade of closure, Government announced the St. George's Renaissance Consortium ? led by the Quorum group of fund management companies in Toronto, New York and Bermuda ? will take over Club Med in St. George's.

The group plans international arts events and wants to construct a European style of living with piazzas and fountains.

But there was further confusion on the future of Morgan's Point, the former US Naval Annex in Southampton.

Three groups of developers have proposed to Government major projects including hotels, housing, golf and a marina complex, but none has got anywhere.

Works and Engineering Minister Terry Lister said in October the 250 acre site would be used for housing ? only to be corrected by Government that no decision on any options had been made.

But the picture got muddier when Ms Webb said at a public meeting on tourism earlier this month that a tourist development was "off the table" ? prompting Premier Alex Scott to issue a statement saying there was no confusion.

At the same tourism forum where Ms Webb invited a panel of experts and the public to brainstorm about the future of the failing industry, the Minister for the first time said an independent Tourism Authority should not be ruled out if that was needed to kick-start the business.

There were national headlines in the US newspapers, CNN and ABC in March, when it was revealed Bermuda used a shot of a model on a beach in Hawaii ? although the beach could not be seen ? to sell the Island.

Other pictures in the official campaign of a diver surrounded by what is thought to be a school of barracuda, and a woman swimming with a dolphin were also shot elsewhere.

Ms Webb said: "Its great free publicity. I don't think negativity is necessarily bad press."

Tourism was thrown into turmoil in November when Director Judith Hall Bean asked to be moved out ? to Cabinet Office ? reportedly because of Ms Webb's management style, which other civil servants described as abrasive and disdainful.

Ms Webb further angered civil servants by saying Mrs. Hall Bean's successor would "more than likely" come from outside the civil service.

A senior civil servant told Ms Webb treated her staff with "complete disdain" rejecting their advice out of hand.

Ms Webb said tourism needs to be radically altered to deliver to customers, and she blamed civil service complaints about her as inevitable resistance to change.

"This points to how some civil servants are completely out of control and need to be managed properly. They resist change and it is an example of why change is necessary," she said.

Just before Christmas, the full extent of staff anxiety with Ms Webb emerged when a leaked letter from Bermuda Public Services Union to Cabinet Secretary John Drinkwater revealed three pages of scathing criticism against the minister ? including a claim that civil servants had to stand up when she entered the room.

BPSU general secretary Ed Ball wrote: "In all my years as a trade unionist, I have never seen civil servants who are so fearful of a minister and the possible retribution that they could experience as a result of them collectively coming together to address their concerns."

As a measure of how far the relationship had deteriorated, staff held an unofficial Christmas party in the office and didn't invite Ms Webb.

There was good news on airline front, with US Airways beginning a weekly summer flight to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The same airline also began a new service to Boston.

Transport Minister Dr. Ewart Brown continued to court Virgin about a service from London to challenge British Airways' monopoly, low cost quality airline JetBlue continue to make positive noises about flying to Bermuda from the US.A

nd United Airlines were said to have responded positively to overtures from Government about a direct flight from Chicago.