Liveries slash number of bikes to rent

Many have reduced the number of bikes they keep on the showroom floor because there is too little demand.

And the big companies say trade has halved in the last year.

Johann Moik, operations manager for Oleander, told the Bermuda Sun that his business was suffering a significant downturn in trade.

He said that the cruise passengers visiting the island in the last couple of years rarely hired out bikes from Hamilton.

He added: ”It’s a very sad situation. The tourism industry went totally wrong bringing in all these cruise ship passengers.

“They come here, they don’t spend anything and they don’t hire bikes any more. They come as part of a package, visit Horseshoe and that is it.

“We are very desperate — people don’t come to rent, instead they do tours organized by the ship. The other thing that would help us is certain government exemptions like the hotels get.

“We are part of the tourism trade too and if we bring in equipment we should be getting a break like the hotels.

“I would say we are probably down 50 per cent already on last year. Very few tourists are here and nobody is coming to rent bikes. I used to have 1,200 bikes — this year I have just 500. That is how sad it is.”

But Denise Trew, the boss of Eve’s Cycles, said she had high hopes for 2011.

Eve’s Cycles has recently opened an office close to where the ferries pull in at Dockyard and that had the potential to reap rewards this summer.

She added: “The tourism industry really has suffered a setback recently because we used to get a lot of our business from the medium sized hotels and the small guest houses. Most of the them have dissolved away.

“Business is certainly not as lucrative as it used to be but I believe the cruise ships have helped — especially as we have an office in Dockyard. We try to meet them when they come in.

“We have had to sharpen up our game but we are still hopeful we are going to have a good year. Everyone has to put their shoulder to the wheel to make this work. I have been in the trade for 60 years and back in the day we were making five times as much as we do now.

“We have had to scale down. This year has been tough so far.”

Special report: Tourism

• Last chance to save tourism
• High-class hotels needed to hook wealthy travellers
• 'Success lies with well-heeled visitors'
• Promise of cruise business a cause for optimism
• Watersports firms feel the tourism squeeze
• Liveries slash number of bikes to rent
• Eateries cautiously optimistic for 2011
• Cruise ships are 'wiping out' mid-size hotels but there's reason for hope
• Ten ideas that might boost the industry
• One of our pressing needs in hospitality: good service
• Viewpoint: Has Bermuda lived up to expectations?
• Bermuda has to re-price itself into a niche market