The head of the Bermuda Tourism Authority has come to the defence of her leadership team and said she stood by its members, “some of whom have been discredited and whose privacy has been stripped from them”.

Tracy Berkeley, the BTA chief executive, added yesterday: “It is important for me to publicly affirm my support for the resilience, hard work and commitment to Bermuda’s tourism sector that they continue to demonstrate every day.”

She spoke after The Royal Gazettereported that the BTA had acknowledged “recent staff departures”.

The article highlighted that, according to a Gazette source, the number of staff who have left the quango in recent months and claims of an unhappy workplace were topics at a BTA board meeting last week, which was attended by Owen Darrell, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport.

The report revealed the salaries of Ms Berkeley and senior officials at the authority, which were shared with the United States Department of Justice as mandated under the US Foreign Agents Registration Act.

Mr Darrell, responding to questions from the newspaper on Thursday evening, said he took any concerns shared in the board meeting “very seriously” and had asked the BTA to “address the issues as a matter of priority”.

He added that, as minister, he did not direct the BTA’s operations, which were under the authority of its board.

Ms Berkeley’s statement yesterday emphasised that all BTA workers, regardless of their position, were entitled to employment protections.

She added: “In line with our HR policy and to protect the privacy of both current and former employees, we do not discuss specific personnel matters.

“Prior to the statement made in today’s Gazette, we had already communicated our intention to review and address any concerns. It is essential that matters of this nature follow the necessary due process.”

The Gazette report included background on turnover in the BTA leadership as well as some of its senior officials.

Ms Berkeley said she was “proud of the contributions of every member of the BTA who have individually and collectively contributed immeasurably to our steady growth in leisure air travel and supported the wider work we do to support the tourism industry”.

She added: “We are thankful for the board's oversight and support as we remain committed to our mission.

“In the meantime, we will continue to lead with intention, compassion, and accountability.

“The work that we do is too important to approach it in any other way.”

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• To see Ms Berkeley’s statement in full, see Related Media