Recent studies have suggested safety is top of mind for folks looking to book travel these days. And that makes Bermuda a great choice, says one of the destination's top tourism officials.
"Bermuda has done extremely well, with government health officials and the community at large participating and keeping safe," Victoria Isley, the Bermuda Tourism Authority's Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, told TravelPulse Canada in a Zoom interview on Monday.
There have been 177 cases in a country of roughly 62,000 people, and nine deaths.
Isley said she believes Bermuda is seventh in the world in terms of per capita testing for COVID-19. She also said the destination has "rigorous" and "robust" protocols in place to keep residents and visitors safe.
"A visitor prior to departing their home country is required to get a negative COVID test result and apply for travel authorization approval online 48 hours in advance," she said. ."Upon arrival all visitors are tested at the airport again, then they are to stay in their accommodation until those test results are received (generally within 24 hours, which is the government's guideline, and sometimes within eight, she said) and then are free to explore the island with face masks and the like.
"Depending on their length of stay, they're tested again on day four, day eight and day 14. So it is a rigorous testing protocol, but, again, what we found on the ground is that is why visitors are choosing Bermuda."
The costs of all those tests is covered by the $75 travel authorization fee that visitors pay.
Traveller exit surveys compiled since July indicate 95% of visitors "said they felt safe from the virus while on-island," Glenn Jones, the Bermuda Tourism Authority (BTA) interim CEO, said last week.
Isley said Air Canada was the first airline to fly to Bermuda when it started accepting visitors in early July. AC is the only Canadian airline flying to Bermuda right now, and has flights once a week.
A Bermuda Tourism Authority official last week said roughly 61% of the destination's hotels are open right now.
Vacation home rentals and larger hotel suites have increased in popularity, she said. As well, the average length of stay has increased from four days per visitor prior to COVID-19 to 11 days now.
The average age of travellers is skewing much younger now, too, with the average visitor age now at 37 years.
"We're also seeing more first-time visitors to the island because of the safety record," Isley explained.
The benefits of a trip to Bermuda remain pretty much the same: natural beauty, beaches, open spaces, general safety and, now, safety during the pandemic, she said.
Isley says the marketing theme right now could be described as "the escape they've been craving these past months. It's also a safe destination for them to choose, so it's appealing both to the heart and the head."
"There are different coves and beaches, and electric rental cars have certainly helped open up the island for travellers to be more adventurous," she said. "You could have a spectacular beach or cove all to yourself."
Having daytime high temperatures of around 20C from January to March isn't a bad selling point, either.
Isley said Bermuda last month introduced a "Work From Bermuda" certificate that allows people to go to the island and work remotely for up to a year. Hundreds of applications have been received already.
Click here for more information on Bermuda.
Topics From This Article to Explore
