Spring Travel for Government Business
Ministerial Statement

As you know, Mr. Speaker, golf is a major component of our tourism product. That's the reason major redesign and reconstruction is underway at Port Royal and it is also why Bermuda is home to the spectacular PGA Grand Slam of Golf.

Mr. Speaker, last month I attended the Masters Golf Tournament at Augusta National in Georgia in my capacity as Minister of Tourism and Transport. My wife Wanda and I were guests of the PGA of America -- Bermuda's partners in the Grand Slam event. My time in Georgia gave me the opportunity to talk with PGA executives about potentially lengthening our relationship to bring the Grand Slam to Bermuda beyond 2008.

The PGA of America has told me repeatedly, Mr. Speaker, that it was incredibly pleased with this country's and this government's performance during the Grand Slam last October. I believe the Members of this Honourable House will agree with that assessment, Mr. Speaker. Certainly all of Bermuda looks forward to a repeat performance in the coming year.

The PGA of America and the millions watching the Grand Slam around the world on television will have high expectations.

Mr. Speaker, based on the feedback I received firsthand from PGA officials while at Augusta, I am optimistic about the future of the Grand Slam in Bermuda and I am equally optimistic about the strengthening golf options in our tourism product.

If you're a fan of golf, Mr. Speaker, you will know that Trevor Immelman of South Africa won the Masters last month and will be the first professional on the scorecard to play the Mid Ocean Club in October. We look forward to hosting him and the three other qualifiers who will be decided later this year.

Directly from Augusta, Mr. Speaker, I traveled to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to fulfill my responsibility as the Minister with ultimate oversight of CITV.

CITV has partnered with WQED -- America's first and perhaps most respected public broadcasting station in the United States. At WQED, Mr. Speaker, they have three basic missions -- local, local, local. I believe CITV's mission is the same – local first.

While I was in Pittsburgh, WQED proved itself to be so much more than just a television station. Mr. Speaker, that is exactly what we hope to build at CITV. For example, Mr. Speaker, WQED was able to bring together Pittsburgh's business leaders so that we could discuss how public television, when used effectively, can stimulate commerce and entrepreneurship. Mr. Speaker, WQED is also in tune with the academic community, particularly the medical schools in Pittsburgh. I was presented an opportunity to talk with medical thinkers about healthcare challenges and how they can be overcome. And of course Mr. Speaker, I met with the WQED staff to discuss strategies for improving our taxpayer-funded television station.

Just about every minute of my two days in Pittsburgh was jam-packed. It was time well-spent. There turned out to be an incredible wealth of relevant knowledge in Pittsburgh and the public television station there knew how to tap into all of it. I hope our television station can be similarly useful for the people of Bermuda.

Additionally, Mr. Speaker, we used the time in Pittsburgh to sell Bermuda as a travel destination. Understanding of course that it's fairly easy to get to Bermuda from Pittsburgh, I used a television appearance, a radio appearance and two newspaper interviews to make sure people in Pennsylvania understood what our tourism product is all about.

More recently, Mr. Speaker, I visited our Regiment Soldiers on their annual training mission in Jamaica. His Excellency the Governor Sir Richard Gozney and the Minister for Home Affairs Senator David Burch also travelled to Jamaica to support our troops during training.

Mr. Speaker, I was pleased of what I saw and proud of our people in Jamaica.

I also used my time in Jamaica, Mr. Speaker, to call on Prime Minister Bruce Golding. Prime Minister Golding became the leader of his country in September of last year; it was the first time he and I have met.

We discussed many things including the possibility of our countries competing against one another more often to improve the talent of our countries’ athletes. More specifically, Mr. Speaker, we talked about Bermudians having the opportunity to participate at the Jamaican Sports College.

I look forward to working with Prime Minister Golding on initiatives that are mutually beneficial to our countries.

Upon leaving Kingston, Mr. Speaker, I travelled to Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Mr. Speaker, Minister Elvin James and I joined a Bermuda delegation there to participate in a richly valuable Sustainable Tourism Conference. Our participation, Mr. Speaker, further cements the Government's commitment to prudent development as we consistently build the Platinum Period of the Bermuda Tourism resurgence.

The Chairman of the Tourism Board, Mr. E. Michael Jones, and the Chair of the Sustainable Development Roundtable, Mr. Arthur Hodgson, also attended the conference, Mr. Speaker, providing us an opportunity to balance and synergize various Government boards and agencies as described in our Sustainable Development Plan.

There is a lot of work underway simultaneously in this Government, Mr. Speaker, because there is much to do. But rest assured, that is no complaint on this side, we would have it no other way.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Premier, Dr. the Hon. Ewart F. Brown, J.P., M.P.

May 9, 2008