manpower crisis in the tourism industry.

Hotel officials believe an accurate picture of the numbers currently in the industry, as well as the predicted movements in and out, would provide vital data as they try to tackle staff shortages.

Bermuda Hotel Association executive director John Harvey said there could be valuable information already contained in the recently completed Census 2000.

But he said further work could really give the industry a clear idea of what their human resource needs will be over the next four or five years.

Presently there are around 5,600 people employed in hotels, restaurants and clubs out of a total workforce of 37,457. That figure does not include workers in many businesses that rely on tourism for income.

"I have been hearing about the difficulty in locating trained staff, not only here but abroad as well,'' he said.

"I think surveys need to be done so we can get a handle on what the situation is today. It would help determine what the needs are going to be, who is retiring and so on.

"The census will also be very helpful in making some pretty accurate decisions on all of the information we find.'' His comments come after hoteliers complained of the difficulties in finding and hiring quality staff for their premises, of the standard required to deliver top class service.

Both Cambridge Beaches and Ariel Sands bosses, Mike Winfield and Alan Paris, voiced concerns over finding suitable Bermudians who wished to make a career in hospitality.

And they said the lack of homegrown talent forced them to look overseas for workers, then coming up against disincentives associated with work permit processing, cost of living and accommodation.

Mr. Winfield said Bermuda was competing with tourism on a global basis for staff, and any negative points worked against them.

"Anything that reduces the attractiveness of Bermuda for that labour places us at a competitive disadvantage.

"For instance staff seeking jobs can generally be assured of a position within a couple of weeks, in Bermuda we are sometimes talking four times that amount.'' He said lead time for hiring staff and having them arrive on the Island could be between three and four months. However, he said the Immigration Department was often not to blame and was working to the best of its ability.

"There is a sentiment expressed by some that hotel managers would rather hire non-Bermudians. It is rubbish.'' Mr. Paris praised immigration, who he said could fast track a particular application when it was alerted that the position was an emergency situation.

He said there was a need to start educating children on the positive aspects of tourism careers, rather than steering them towards jobs that simply pay more.

"Whatever we can do, the Bermuda Hotel Association has an adopt-a-school programme trying to get children interested in the industry,'' he said. He added that youngsters had to be persuaded that tourism could be a rewarding choice.

John Harvey