Bermuda will be marketed as an “Atlantic” destination and not a “Caribbean” destination, and also as a year-round place to vacation.

Chief executive officer of the Bermuda Tourism Authority (BTA) Bill Hanbury made the announcement yesterday to Hamilton Rotary Club.

He said that Bermuda would capitalise on both its British heritage as well as its “island soul”, calling the merger of cultures “proper fun”.

Mr Hanbury said that visitors “ ... love our British and island influences,” and added that Bermuda’s historic antiquities should be better promoted. “Consumers are interested in Bermuda’s British traditions: tea time, cricket, focus on service,” he said.

“There will be no more invented events not reflecting Bermuda’s true heritage, instead the Island should invest in, and nurture Bermuda arts, culture, history and cuisine.

“Additionally, there will be more focus on Bermuda’s marine and nautical legacy, as well as its “extraordinary” natural and ecological resources.

“Global visitors desire sports and recreational experiences,” he said, and pointed to a series of BTA initiatives.

New plans to promote golf include an advisory board, an on-island concierge to ensure visitors can book tee times, and selective sponsorships generating room nights.

Scuba diving, which he called “an important niche market.”

Providing “ ... a place for athletic teams in the shoulder season,” including rugby, football, field hockey and swimming.

Fishing, sailing and boating “go to our product core.”

Running, cycling and triathlons “play an important role,” he concluded.

There would be no more talk of an off season, he said, and additional marketing resources would be allocated to the industry’s shoulder periods. He said: “Our winter weather is delightful compared to the US, Canada and the UK,” and pointed out that in Syracuse, New York, the January winter temperature is 24 degrees Fahrenheit, with 34 inches of snow, compared to an average Bermuda temperature of 63 degrees Fahrenheit.

He said Bermuda should not be identified as a Caribbean destination because the Island has different seasons, a more moderate climate and less severe weather — although he made an exception for hurricane-hit 2014. He also pointed to shorter flight times from all key markets and a “different” consumer experience.

Bermuda was not a destination for everyone, stated the CEO, and added the BTA would not “boil the ocean”. Instead, they will position Bermuda as a quality destination for discriminating consumers. He said they would not “waste marketing assets” selling to audiences that won’t buy Bermuda, and instead focus first on the north-eastern US, Canada, then the UK and finally Europe.

Mr Hanbury had opened his speech painting a gloomy picture of Bermuda’s hospitality industry which included a decline in air visitor arrivals of five per cent for 2014, but said the BTA had only been in business since April, and vowed to ‘own’ the 2015 arrival figures. He pointed to declining tourism related metrics from 1990 to 2013, with air arrivals down 46 per cent, spending down 53 per cent, tax revenue down 51 per cent and employment in the sector down 58 per cent.

He said: “The right balance between cruise and air visitors is required for an equitable and thriving tourism industry. However, we receive the vast majority of our income from air arrivals,” and pointed out that for every dollar spent by a cruise visitors, air visitors spent $11.

Cruise visitors comprise 62 per cent of total travellers in 2012; however, they only spent $45 million of the $415 million that made up total visitor spending. In 2012, 53 per cent of people directly employed in tourism worked in hotels or similar establishments.

“BTA submits it’s necessary to increase cruise passenger expenditures and simultaneously increase air arrivals — the organisation’s top priority.”

He said that only the civil service and the wholesale/retail trades employ more people than the tourism industry and noted that as visitor spending has declined over time so have the number of jobs. “The employment decline was dramatic, with a decrease of almost 50 per cent since 1990.” Jobs declined from 6,178 at 1990 levels, to 3,748 in 2013 — a loss of 2,430 jobs in the sector.

“Its negative effects were masked by job growth within the international business sector which more than compensated for the tourism job losses,” he said.

Recent performance measures have shown a two per cent increase in hotel occupancy in 2013, and a 2.6 per cent increase in 2014 — with the proviso that there is a reduced inventory which has impacted that number. However, air arrivals, which increased 1.8 per cent in 2013, declined five per cent this year. There was a one per cent increase in overall arrivals year-over-year, and a 4.8 per cent increase in the hotel average daily rate.

Answering questions at the end of his presentation, he said that in dealing with airlines, they were either “at your throat or at your feet”, depending on whether demand for seats was rising or falling. “They will do anything they need to do to make money,” he said.

Mr Hanbury said that tourism’s contribution to the GDP was less than 10 per cent of the economy. “At one point we were at 50 per cent,” he said. In the next decade, he hopes to see that number rise to 25-30 per cent.

He also said that the recently passed legislation allowing for casino licences was not a “deal-breaker,” but: “We think that casinos and gaming are important.”

He added: “It won’t make the difference between success and failure of the of the BTA and the tourism economy.” However; the legislation was important for hotel developers, and he said: “ ... it’s another arrow in our quiver.”