BDOT Launch Financial Incentive Programme
The Minister of Business Development and Tourism Patrice Minors officially launched the “Feel the Love Rewards” campaign today [Apr.15].
The “Feel the Love Rewards” programme is a financial incentive for visitors, as well as Bermuda residents and rewards those who bring visitors to the island by giving them cash back for every person who visits.
Today, when launching the initiative during the Quarter 1 Visitor Arrivals Statistics press conference held at Cambridge Beaches, Minister Minors said of the programme, “There are so many people out there who are passionate about Bermuda and we want to reward them for being ‘ambassadors’ who deliver business to the Island.
“We value those who have fallen in love with our destination and for those who call Bermuda home. We expect that this incentive programme will drive air travellers to our shores and encourage ‘friends of Bermuda’ to continue spreading the word about all Bermuda has to offer.”
The “Feel the Love Rewards” programme offers tiered monetary incentives for Bermuda ambassadors.
The first level offers a $25 per person reward for a minimum of 15 visitors that you bring to the Island over a 12-month period, and the monetary rewards increase with the number of guests you bring.
Additional levels include the Gold level, which provides $30 per person for 25 to 34 travellers; and the Platinum level, which offers $40 per person for 35 to 49 visitors.
“Feel the Love Rewards” ambassadors who secure more than 50 visitors will reach the Diamond level, where they can earn $50 for each traveller. That’s a minimum total of $2,500 for bringing 50 confirmed visitors to Bermuda.
All visitors must arrive by air and stay at a local hotel property as verified by the Bermuda Department of Tourism (BDOT) Cruise visits do not qualify.
“Feel the Love Rewards” ambassadors will receive support from dedicated BDOT liaisons who will provide promotional materials, literature and any additional information required. For more information on how to participate in Bermuda’s “Feel the Love Rewards” programme, call 800-233-6106 or visit www.feeltheloverewards.com, where you can sign up to participate.
Pretty sad days when you have to pay people to come here!
Ummm READ WHAT THE PROGRAM IS ASS…its for Bermudians to get you involved..stop complaining and now you market bermuda..and get paid for it…sheeeh!
That is so friggn laughable!!!
im sorry..why? what is wrong with encouranging Bermudians to sell Bermuda..get you involved with tourism??
I think because we already spend millions of dollars a year for this to be done by the DOT, tax dollars. So we are paying for this latest incentive business anyway, paying the DOT so that we can do the job for them. Hence the laugh.
Yes, but it takes more than a few people..Bermuda’s selling point are its people..so why not get the people involved…
I just wanted to read this article for the ‘platinum’ reference. Thanks….
What the !!!!!!!!! is this? How is this going to ‘drive’ visitors to our shores! What a joke.
And we thought Ewart and his platinum period was a joke !!! now we have the diamond rewards…we need Terry Brannon to be the tourism minister .
We are so screwed.
So we’re well on our way in that handbasket…
Sara there is no handbasket …. only trash bags !
With the economic climate as it is the BDOT should be looking at ways of bundling the entire destination package on the frontline of the perspective tourist side, instead of directly giving the incentive.
Marketing tells you offer discounts and package deals or all inclusive packages that attracts the tourists.
More to the point look at the would be tourist as you would look for your own vacation and what attracts you to the destination, hotel, resteruants, activities, and what you can get cheap or discounted.
So stop playing games and lolli gagging around with these little campagins in areas of the US that the only people coming to Bermuda are business people and start offering family discounts and get the entire family here from toddler to granny and let them all spend there money not just the affleunt ones.
Do I get a ‘pop by’ flag and free ginger beer too?
This is a huge step up from offering a con artist $400K to bring a couple of thousand people here in the name of God.
Of course I won’t be taking part because I also think its crap.
We have no tourism product, hence no tourists.
Horse, stable etc etc etc.
People who love Bemuda will always sell Bermuda (well), even without reward. This doesn’t change a thing, and let’s face it, the paperwork to actually claim the reward will be laughably incomprehensible. Oh yeah, and in case the gov’t stats haven’t picked this up yet(because there’s no political will to track it… intentionally, of course) most referred visitors are coming because they have family members working here. Reduce the expats and we can all watch the visitor numbers dive. And yes I am a born Bermudian, before everyone starts thinking this is a chance to ‘blame an expat’, again.
As an observation; right now we shouldn’t care whether a visitor stays in a hotel or with family members, let’s face it we’re desperate, these visitors all spend money on taxis and in the restaurants and bars (more than most cruise visitors if the truth be known). The fact that the Gov’t reward is only for hotel-staying guests is yet another example of our Gov’t being several years behind the times.
The formula is simple: advertise to New England resident tourists and offer the best possible service. Done. Simples. And yes, in case anyone is in doubt, that means we all have to work very hard for it over the next decade.
haha! were all really screwed….this government gives everything away! no wonder they are in gov they cant make it in the private secter
That program is nothing new – BDOT tried that YEARS ago – and I know first hand! It didn’t work then, and probably won’t work this time around!! Our money is constantly wasted on silly programs that bring one or two visitors. There are MILLIONS of people on the East Coast – why not market heavily to those “fish” that are closest to our net – thoe alone can easily keep our hotels full – year round……Maybe if we had some more decent hotels, instead of empty eyesores (Sonesta, Holiday Inn, Nine Beaches)there’d actually be somewhere for folks to stay. The enormous reduction in hotel rooms/beds needs to be reversed before we get anywhere NEAR the number of tourists we had in the good years – alll the marketing schemes in the world are useless unless we provide excellent product – i.e. – well appointed, CLEAN hotels/rooms; employees without attitutes that speak English, captivating nightlife………..
Product first–marketing that product is secondary. I”m waiting for the Minister to tell us who we are and how she plans to position us in the global tourism market. I can’t figure out if we want to be a luxury product targeting an affluent audience that buys addresses or cater to the mass market who are driven by price. I believe that we are to small to attempt to be both. On the one hand we almost start a civil war to assist a failing Tuckers Point to fight on in the Luxury market and in doing so fly the Rosewood flag. On the other hand we overspend ( and I’m attempting to be kind) by millions to expand the wharf at dockyard to accommodate mega ships and their thousands of budget conscious passengers. Front Street, once the model to follow for small island tourist destinations is a picture of confusion. Gone are the attractive buildings housing shops full of fine product at reasonable prices replaced by halls of high finance and shops selling t-shirts and trinkets.Yes many thought that International business and tourism could co-exist but the evidence clearly shows that it couldn’t, hasn’t and won’t. This isn’t NYC, San Francisco or London.
I Love this initiative! Great for Tourism. Would have proposed this myself. GO BERMUDA
I always bring people here anyway, it is our duty as Bermudians to be ambassadors for our great island.
“Spread the Onion Juice”
It’s not a new initiative and the question is how successful was it when it was introduced by the then Minister of Tourism, Ewart Brown.
Ok, not sure why everyone, including the Minister of Business Devlopment & Tourism thinks this is a great new initative. Simply put…it’s just a revived program that was formerly known as the ‘Bermuda Points of Light’. For those of you who think I’m fluffing….simply go to the website…www.bermudapointsoflight.com.
It’s clearly time for some creativity to come out of the Department of Tourism……we’ll never move forward using the same ole methods!
THis is a shameless govt and total embarrassment…can they justify their exorbitant salaries,perks galore,free lavish trips,free car,elite medical coverage and FREE CREDIT CARDS.And they now want us to do their work.Brown how much kickback from GlobalHUE,KURRON,BERKELYSCHOOL,TCD etc.?If they got any respect and integrity left they would all resign!! for the mess they got this once pristine and economical successful BDA was.
This is so pathetic for the govt who mismangered BDA in all depts are now reaching to all low…they’aint no what they are doing -and to make it worse they are gettin pain HIGHLY>>>>>>>..