Tourism chiefs are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past unless they change their mindsets and place the industry on a new footing, according to critics.Independent MP Terry Lister and former Shadow Tourism Minister Kim Swan spoke out after Government figures released this week showed a decline in the number of visitors to the Island in the first three months of the year.Mr Lister said his biggest concerns were a drop in convention numbers and a 14 percent decline in visitors from Canada.And Mr Swan, who spoke on tourism issues for the United Bermuda Party before losing his seat at the last election, questioned why Government was still focused on bringing in large numbers of cruise passengers rather than working to attract air arrivals.And he accused the One Bermuda Alliance of continuing the policies of the last Progressive Labour Party “with all too similar results that continue to prevail”.Mr Lister, who left the PLP following its defeat at the last general election, said: “The figures for the first quarter are always very small and thus can easily be dismissed as being of no particular significance. However, what is important are trend lines that can be carried into projections for the remainder of the year.“The service from Canada by West Jet and Air Canada should give rise to increases period over period. The decline should worry tourism officials. I hope that quick action will be taken to stimulate the Canadian market to ensure that the first-quarter downturn does not extend into the rest of the year.“Convention business has become crucial to Bermuda’s success. The Department of Tourism needs to work closely with the business development teams of the major hotels to ensure that the slogan ‘So much more’ is believed by convention planners who in turn will look favourably to bringing their business here in 2013. Again, we must ensure that the package is priced right so as to attract and retain the business that we have had in past years.“The Minister has made some very favourable statements about the rest of the year however by his own admission, Bermuda is behind the curve and must be willing to make changes to its approach.”Mr Swan also claimed that the new Government had failed to bring about any change in strategy.“It can be argued that it is difficult to expect better results if you continue to do the same thing as before,” Mr Swan said.“Ironically they have all plugged into the same Government infrastructure using mostly the same mindset. Ironically, the vision of past administrations have been passed forward, albeit while using different language and reports, but with all to similar results that continue to prevail.“The OBA Government and the UBP Opposition that preceded it, expressed concern at the strain placed on Bermuda’s infrastructure by the over reliance on cruise ships, vowed to address that and put an immediate focus on growing hotel bound visitors in Bermuda.“It is important to remember that 40,000 air visitors spend nearly the same as 400,000 cruise visitors and the irony is that our governments spends huge amounts of money chasing far less return on investment. Notwithstanding, the importance of a balance cruise season to our tourism industry, air arrivals create more jobs on island for Bermudian people. That is where Bermuda’s long-term focus must be placed.”Mr Swan added that Bermuda needed to promote the winter season to niche markets such as golf and sailing enthusiasts.“The real opportunity for Bermuda to grow air arrivals lies within the seven-month period between September and April — seasonally Labour Day to Easter — when airlines drastically reduce service and hotel occupancy plummets,” he said.“If Bermuda Tourism wants to grow air arrivals annually it needs to focus now on the September through April season. Looking retrospectively at the results of the past quarter, comparing them to last years performance and then putting an optimistic slant on the results has been the norm for far to long in Bermuda — and is counterproductive.”