Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1533069
T racy Berkeley doesn't look at her role as the CEO of the Bermuda Tourism Authority (BTA) as a job. Instead, she sees it as a "Service to my country and the people." "The work we do here is legacy building work," said Berkeley, who was the interim CEO for nine months before taking over the posi- tion permanently in March 2023. "Tourism is an important economic level. It has to keep moving in the right direction. Before I took on this role, I was living here as a cit- izen – but when I look at Bermuda now, the work and the role of the BTA, it looks differently." Now, she said, her role and responsibility are all encompass- ing. Her objective is for both the island as well as its residents to succeed. "I think primarily above the normal increasing vis- itation, people feel the tangible benefits of tourism," said Berkeley, who calls herself a native Bermudian born by way of (Toronto, Ontario) Canada. "I want our taxi drivers to be busy, and the stores to be open and busy. Everyone should benefit." Berkeley wants Bermuda to be "a thriving local economy spurred on by tourism." "Tourism feeds more families," she said. "If the economy does well, the people who live here do well. The goal is to have a robust product. That way, everybody wins." Although she was a chief administration officer at the BTA when COVID-19 hit in 2020, and not the CEO, Berkeley remembers how the travel and tourism industry transformed overnight. "Everything changed," she said. "Our travel protocols didn't expire until the end of 2022. That's how tough it was. It was tough for everyone in the industry. It took about a year or more to get out of that cycle. We had to be creative about group gatherings. There were a lot of testing protocols. COVID isn't going anywhere. In 2023, was the first year we were able to see that spark for travel come back." To get beyond COVID, the BTA developed a strategic recovery plan. "We had to build out a separate plan for future growth," said Berkeley. "With us, we always refine our corpo- rate objectives every year. We had to pivot just like everyone else." When she was approached about taking the CEO position permanently after holding down the interim position for nine months, Berkeley wasn't quick to accept the job. "I don't think I thought about it too much," said Berkeley, who doesn't sit on any industry boards but does sit on some private and public boards. "I was in it for nine months. It had some challenges. There were a lot of hurdles and a lot of things that needed to be fixed in a short amount of time. I didn't readily say yes. Then I thought about service and responsibility. I felt like I was being called." Once she was embedded in the position, Berkeley quickly planned an agenda. "My goal was to steady the organization," she said. "We went through a level of turmoil. I set out to do some things early. I was able to build a leadership team and bring in the right talent. The next thing we did was execute a campaign." Berkeley, a mother of three, is the first female leader of the BTA, which also has an T R A C Y B E R K E L E Y BY DARLENE DONLOE B M & T ••• March/April 2025 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 15 A C O N V E R S AT I O N W I T H "We had to build out a separate plan for future growth,"