Bermuda Tourism Authority Board to Seek New CEO

May 16, 2016

The board of directors of the Bermuda Tourism Authority (BTA) will begin its search for a new chief executive officer this summer. The goal is to identify a suitable successor to current CEO Bill Hanbury by the fourth quarter of this year. Hanbury is concluding his three-year contract at the end of 2016.

Board Chairman David Dodwell said: “Bill’s upcoming departure was not unexpected, as his three-year contract comes to an end with the BTA. We now turn our attention to implementing our succession plan. It is time for the BTA to move into phase two of rebuilding Bermuda’s tourism industry.

“The BTA Board wants to take this opportunity to thank Bill for his leadership of the BTA staff and his dedication to Bermuda. Bill has been instrumental in creating a first-class operation, staffed with an experienced and dedicated team. In his tenure he has demonstrated positive results and forward movement of our tourism product. Phase one of BTA growth and development has been fully achieved. The structure, staffing and directional focus of the BTA has clearly demonstrated important results for the country.

“Mr. Hanbury was the organization’s first chief executive officer and came to Bermuda with a wealth of destination marketing experience, having led high profile tourism organizations. In just a little more than two years, Mr. Hanbury, along with a dedicated team, built the BTA from the ground up — establishing world-class standards that include full accreditation from Destination Marketing Association International, an unqualified audit and a highly motivated work force.

“When Bill leaves us in December, it will be on a high note,” said Dodwell. “We have seen positive results since the start of 2016, and we fully expect this trend line to continue throughout the rest of year. The future looks very bright for Bermuda tourism as we set the table for the America’s Cup and beyond. We feel strongly that this is a testament to his hard work and the efforts of his team.”

Under Hanbury’s leadership, the team at the BTA has worked diligently with partners to turn around a struggling tourism industry. Vacation air arrivals were up 13.7 percent in the first quarter of 2016, the highest amount recorded in the first quarter since 2008. During the first three months of 2016, major travel and tourism industry indicators charted positive results when compared to the same period a year ago:

Direct spending by air visitors in Bermuda reached an estimated $20.4 million during the first quarter, a 4 percent increase.
The number of airline seats flying to Bermuda increased 21.9 percent in the first quarter.
Total leisure arrivals to Bermuda were up 31.9 percent when cruise arrivals are combined with vacation air arrivals.
Vacation air arrivals from the United States were up 28.4 percent overall.
83 percent of the growth is attributed to travelers younger than 45-years-old, marking the first time air arrival demographics have skewed this young in at least a decade.
Hotel occupancy grew 7.4 percent.
Hotel pace for the next 12 months is up more than 13 percent as of April 2016.

The BTA board will be diligent in seeking out the very best CEO candidate to continue the strong leadership of the BTA. The board anticipates a robust process of selection and vetting of candidates against clearly defined criteria and objectives. To ensure a thorough process with best practices, the board will be working with an agency, which will be named shortly to ensure pre-screening of all applicants. The board will seek a diverse slate of candidates for the position.

When a suitable candidate is found, outgoing CEO Bill Hanbury will work side-by-side transitioning the new CEO designate; with the changeover completed by December 31, 2016.

Further, the board noted: “Bill is fully committed to this process of handover and will continue to work diligently throughout the year. There is much work to accomplish before his official end date as the organization remains focused on strong results for 2016, especially as preparations for the America’s Cup ramp up. We are confident the organization and all tourism stakeholders will continue to rally behind him as he completes the mission he began in 2014. Bermuda and our valued visitors deserve nothing less.”