The National Tourism Plan is one step closer to becoming a reality as Government kicks off its search for an advisor.The Ministry of Business Development and Tourism put a Request for Proposal (RFP) in the Official Gazette yesterday looking for an advisor to develop the long-awaited blueprint for the tourism industry.The long-term master plan was originally due to be completed this summer then delayed until October. Then a couple of months ago Tourism Minister Patrice Minors said it had now been pushed back to “the early months of next year”.Ms Minors insisted the extra time was needed to draw up the report, which aims to detail everything that needs to happen in tourism over the next five to ten years. It has been reported that talks are in place to bring in an overseas consultant to write the blueprint for the future of the industry at a cost of about $1 million.But in a recent interview with The Royal Gazette Ms Minors would only say: “That’s a process we are looking at right now. Nothing has been decided yet.”The National Tourism Plan comes at a crunch time for the industry, which has suffered from the closure of hotels and guest houses, as well as a decline in tourist numbers.The newspaper advert explains that the RFP, which will include the deadline for submissions, will be available to download from the Government website on Wednesday (October 19). The Department of Tourism did not respond to our requests for comment.