New Visitor Experience To Debut At Cup Match
The Bermuda Tourism Authority [BTA] said they “will continue its commitment to infusing local culture in the visitor experience with a brand new offering to debut” at Cup Match 2015.
“The BTA Product & Experiences division has teamed up with local entrepreneurs to develop an experience that puts visitors into the Cup Match camp sites of local hosts so that they have access to the same unique and authentic experience as Bermudians,” the BTA said.
“Visitors tell us through market research that immersion in local culture is paramount to their vacation experience,” said Pat Phillip-Fairn, chief product and experiences development officer. “
Local company Bermuda Explorer has come up with a package that not only takes visitors to Cup Match but makes them a part of the Cup Match experience. Our product and experiences team provided data-driven input and advice for developing the package. We’re thrilled a local entrepreneur has come up with an easy option to provide what visitors want.”
The BTA said, “A more culturally rich Cup Match experience has been in development for several months. The final package has come together in recent weeks with the help of a local entrepreneur. It will include:
- Round trip transportation to St. George’s Cricket Club
- Tickets to the game
- Traditional Bermuda cuisine at local host camp site
- Traditional Bermuda drinks at local camp site
- Explanation of local culture, cricket and Crown & Anchor by local hosts
“At last year’s Cup Match, the BTA provided transportation for visitors who chose to attend the game at Somerset Cricket Club. Those visitors had the option of sitting in a designated spectator area for visitors, which was organised and managed by the Bermuda Hotel Association [BHA].
“While the BTA was also prepared to extend its Cup Match activities further last year, Somerset Cricket Club declined the BTA’s grant offer. The BTA did not receive a request from St. George’s Cricket Club for funding any aspect of this year’s Cup Match.
Mrs. Phillip-Fairn said, “We believe the new Bermuda Explorer experience has the potential to become the best visitor Cup Match experience to date. It’s more authentic, it’s more in tune with customer demands and it relies on the ingenuity of Bermudian entrepreneurs to be successful.”
“Bermuda Explorer has also developed a Non-mariners’ Race experience that similarly relies upon local hosts to provide the local flavour visitors want. This experience will replace a daylong boat ride offered to visitors in years past, which had a lesser opportunity for full local culture immersion.
“Meantime, as it did last year, the BTA Sales & Marketing division is promoting the cultural experience of Cup Match online at gotobermuda.com. The popular social elements of Cup Match will play heavily on the Tourism Authority’s consumer-facing social media, as is always the case.
“A multi-page brochure is also once again in production to educate visitors on how cricket is played, the history of Cup Match, its cultural significance, transport options and details of other Cup Match-related events. The newly created visitor experience is also promoted in the brochure. The finished product will be distributed to local hotels to encourage visitors on-island to attend Cup Match.”
The boating package is listed at $185, and the Cup Match package is listed at $150. More information is available here on the BTA’s website.
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$150 dollars to attend Cup Match!!!
The BTA should be ashamed of themselves!
Food, Transport, Beverage, Attendance, Staff working on a public holiday. $150 sounds quite reasonable, stop moaning you’re not paying it. Or better yet, provide an alternative.
If you think of it as an all-day event, with food and drink available throughout (as well as transportation costs taken care of), perhaps it can be seen as a decent deal?
The BTA is not offering it, Bermuda Explorer is. The package includes transport to and from game, tickets, food, drinks and a guide. Did you even read the article before spouting off?
That is a good price! I just visited St. Lucia. A six hour catamaran tour of the volcano, visit to a waterfall lunch and snorkeling ran two of us 140.00 per person. The infrastructure in St. Lucia is not as fancy as Bermuda – and it is not dirt cheap. It’s airport is tiny and not as up to date as Bermuda. My villa leaked when it rained. Some of the main roads look like Parsons Road and Middle town back around fifty or sixty years ago. But it is teaming with visitors! Why? because it clebrates its people and its culture, you get good service by St. Lucian natives – not foreignors who know nothing of the country or the culture – and a truly local experience. Bermuda needs to free up, embrace its culture and not be afraid to expose its visitors to its local population. We also need to stop moaning about what is wrong with our infrastructure ( hotels and airport). tourists really don’t care about those things they just really want to have fun and to experience the local culture.
And many of the tourists to St. Lucia are not the flip flop crowd we seem to cater to in Bermuda. They are wealthy Americans and Eupoeans who value authentic local culture over glitzy infrasturcture and imitations of foreign entainment that they see every day in their own countries…. Just saying….
Nice idea BTA – hope it works out for you.
So a private individual that bought a camp at cup match is making money in what for his private use to host visitors and charge them.
This does not sound right – Billy boy has a lot to say on FB about this does he have an inside point of reference we don’t have?
How does the BTA bypass the club and go to an individual camp purchaser.
This government is not for us “accident Bermudians” me a tell you!
Now the clubs have to go begging BTA to support tourism.
Sad Sad Sad.
How does this put more heads in beds? What is the ROI? How are those higher airport numbers (that you promised) coming along…? Just askin’.
You pathetic complainers will moan about anything.
“Literature encourages tolerance – bigots and fanatics seldom have any use for the arts, because they’re so preoccupied with their beliefs and actions that they can’t see them also as possibilities.” -Northrop Frye, writer and critic (14 Jul 1912-1991)
Bermuda’s economy didn’t get to this point overnight. It will take more than 2 1/2 yrs. for the O.B.A. to turn it around completely. According to Minister Bob Richards we are off of the slippery slope and are now on our way up.
I think that’s a reasonable price,how much does a day at cup match cost, look at what is being offered in the package.
So what about the tourist who don’t want to spend $150. They normally show up at the game pay their $20 receive complimentary drink and fruit and during the lunch break support the vendors at the field. I trust Bermuda explorer have received the blessing from St. George’s Cricket club to provide this experience.
I’m sure any tourist can still just show up at the game and pay the usual ticket. This new experience is an option – it’s not mandatory. (Try reading the article, it’s full of information!)
Eastern County Association you could learn from this same ole same ole every year young minds no vision
The price is PER person?… $150 kind of adds up when you have a family of 6 (not including children)
Dislikes?…..Really? ESPECIALLY since the question was poised by a tourist….isn’t that who you are trying to attract….
It’s probably not for everyone, maybe group/family deals will be considered in the future, or other options available for the ‘full tour’ experience.
BTA should use their bonus packages to provide tourists with a designated seating area.
Friends and family benefit
Oh
Oh for goodness sake, I cannot believe this negativity! BTA are responding to something the visitors asked for – rather than ignoring it – and are getting all of this criticism. Would you rather they paid no attention to the customer? We all know where that road leads.
Well done BTA for trying something different.
It perhaps would have been better if the BTA had asked the club to provide a service for tourist once they became aware that the Hotels were not going to do it this year rather than say St. Georges did not ask them for funding. $150 per person seems a bit high to me.