Bermuda hires new ad agency in bid to lure back tourists

Thursday, October 9, 2003

HAMILTON, Bermuda: With visitor numbers falling in Bermuda, the island's tourist board is pulling out the big guns. The Board this week hired advertising agency HDM, to help develop a US$1.6 million ad campaign to help it recover from historic slump.

HDM will run a national ad campaign at the end of this year to reverse Bermuda's tourism drop. Media will be handled by Total Media, AP yesterday reported. The campaign reportedly aims to distinguish Bermuda - a mid-Atlantic British colony - from the other Caribbean islands by promoting the island's 'combination of Caribbean flavour and British charm.' It will also highlight the island's niche offering of scuba diving, golf and sailing.

Bermuda's visitor figures have been in decline for years, but the slump was accelerated following the 9/11 attacks. In 1996, Bermuda saw more than 570,000 visitors, but this was down to just over 450,000 in 2001.

The island's tourism authorities are positioning it as a long-haul destination for the more discerning.

"The challenge is to get people to put Bermuda back on their choice lists. It has become a forgotten destination," AP quoted Mr. Andrew Durant, a partner at HDM as saying. 

  Back...

  Printable version