The One Bermuda Alliance and the Progressive Labour Party have recognised that promoting tourism will be key for whichever party wins the election.

While the One Bermuda Alliance hopes to build on the legacy of the America’s Cup, the Progressive Labour Party has placed an emphasis on building a “fairer” tourism industry for Bermudians.

Both parties have pledged to improve tourist numbers and work to develop the vacation rental market in their election platforms.

But while the OBA has leant heavily on their record, noting the recent upswing in visitor numbers and hotel development projects, the PLP alleges the OBA has failed to create tourism jobs for Bermudians.

Despite its conclusion, the America’s Cup continues to play a strong role in the OBA’s tourism plans — the party pledges to build on the island’s hosting of the event to grow a superyacht servicing and hospitality industry in the South Basin and West End, along with developing sports-based tourism in the slower shoulder seasons.

The OBA also said it would move forward with a Tourism Investment Act to create opportunity in hotels, guesthouses, restaurants and tourist attractions while eliminating the “cumbersome and costly” administration under the Hotel Concessions Act.

And the platform proposes changes to the taxi industry, including a rate increase and the creation of an independent taxi and minibus commission, which would govern any future rate changes.

Michael Fahy, Minister of Tourism, yesterday focused on the OBA’s record and credited the Bermuda Tourist Authority with halting a decline in tourism figures and bringing 17 straight months of growth in air arrivals, cruise arrivals and visitor spending.

Fahy said: “There is renewed enthusiasm from local and foreign investors and the growth in jobs and opportunity for Bermudians is the most promising it has been in a generation.

“The America’s Cup provided a boost that saw Bermuda showcased in dozens of countries and millions of viewers saw the island come together to host what has unanimously been hailed as the best America’s Cup ever.

“Bermuda is back. We have more visitors, younger visitors seeking new experiences and Bermudians are stepping up to cater to what these visitors want and expect in a vacation. The future for tourism in Bermuda has never looked brighter.”

Meanwhile, the PLP has said it intends to reform the BTA in an effort to ensure a better return on investment and improve accountability.

A PLP spokeswoman said: “We will work with the BTA to modernise the process surrounding their hiring and promotional practices as well as the awarding of BTA grants to ensure that they are fairer, more inclusive and better protects the legitimate aspirations of Bermudians in the industry.”

The party also said that it would address immigration concerns to ensure Bermudians are given priority in the tourism industry, among other economic sectors, while investing in training opportunities and improving access to funding for businesses that enhance the island’s tourism product.

The party’s election platform notes that they intend to promote medical tourism to “increase utilisation of our new healthcare facilities” by offering American patients treatments approved in the UK but not available in the US.

The PLP has also said it intends to reverse tax increases implemented by the OBA to reduce the cost for visitors to travel and stay in Bermuda and work to modernise Bermuda’s image internationally.

“We recognise that the face of wealth is changing, becoming younger, more diverse and cosmopolitan,” the PLP spokeswoman said.

“Therefore, we will break away from the OBA’s ‘country club’ tourism approach in favour of a product that is more diverse, more inclusive and more cosmopolitan.”

On the subject of the America’s Cup, she said there were “positives” to the event, but added: “Clearly, the OBA should have included the wider community in the benefits of this event. Instead one Bermuda saw and reaped the benefits, while for the most part, the rest of us were left behind.”

The America’s Cup and the BTA have been at the heart of the debate about tourism in the island since the OBA were elected.

Led by CEO Bill Hanbury, the BTA — a non-governmental body created to restore the island’s tourism industry — came under repeated criticism for the declining air visitor arrivals in 2014 and 2015, with the PLP questioning if the island was getting value for money.

The question of the overall economic impact of the America’s Cup is still in the air, with an independent assessment by PricewaterhouseCoopers expected to be completed in October, but the BTA has credited Bermuda’s hosting of the event as a factor in bringing other sporting events to the island.

Another key issue has been hotel development. In recent years the OBA has celebrated the groundbreaking at both Caroline Bay at Morgan’s Point and the St Regis Development in St George’s, but the PLP has questioned government guarantees offered to “wealthy developers”.

Meanwhile, the Pink Beach found new life as the Loren, work began to turn the former Surf Side into Azure and the Hamilton Princess received a $100 million overhaul.

However, plans to redevelop Ariel Sands stalled and the Par-la-Ville hotel project imploded.

Visitor arrivals in Bemuda over the past ten years peaked in 2011, under the PLP, with around 416,000 cruise ship passengers and 236,000 visitors arriving by air.

However, both declined in 2012. The OBA took power at the end of 2012 and cruise arrivals began to build again in 2014, reaching 398,000 last year. Air arrivals fell to 220,000 in 2015 before rising to 245,000 — the strongest figure since 2008 — last year.

So far this year visitor numbers continue to be on the rise. Air arrivals in the first quarter of the year were up by more than 19 per cent year-on-year, and more than 18 per cent in April and May.

Statistics for June have yet to be released, but are expected to show an continued increase due to Bermuda’s hosting of the America’s Cup.