Minister & Chef Promote Bermuda in NY

Yesterday (Dec 9) in New York, Minister of Business Development and Tourism Patrice Minors addressed close to 50 members of the city’s tourism media, travel agents and business planners at a special luncheon aimed at promoting Bermuda as a business and leisure destination.

On hand to compliment Minister Minors’ presentation was acclaimed local chef Herbie Bascome, of Fairmont Southampton, along with sous chef Clifford Crawford. Invited guests were served up a multi-course, uniquely Bermudian menu, which included fresh local rock fish, Johnny cakes, peas and rice, fish chowder and more. The event took place at the James Beard Foundation’s Beard House located in New York City.

Minister Minors and local chef Herbie Bascome are pictured below surveyed a pot of fish chowder in the famed James Beard House kitchen:

Some of the topics covered during the lunchtime presentation included Bermuda’s overall tourism product offering, the new air service of AirTran and WestJet, the Island’s hotel development projects and the desire to have a synergy in the promotional efforts of international business and tourism. During the luncheon, attendees also heard brief presentations from Bermuda Department of Tourism (BDOT) Director, William Griffith and the BDOT’s Director of Global Operations, Ann Shutte.

Minister Minors said, “Bermuda is steeped in its own deep-rooted traditions, from our historical features to our culinary traditions. From a contemporary standpoint, we are also a recognised premier destination for business and leisure travellers, so we’re honoured to introduce Bermuda to these key influencers.

“Today’s event was an important one, which looked to ensure that Bermuda remains top of mind in such an important target market. While we highlighted of the wonderful and amazing things about Bermuda, we also shared the reality, that Bermuda, like other destinations, has faced its share of challenges, due to the global financial climate.

“Without a doubt, tourism is an important sector of the global economy, and tourism is a critical component to Bermuda’s overall economy. Tourism is our second largest industry, behind international business, and so we see great opportunities in having the twin pillars of our economy under one umbrella.

“The Ministry of Business Development and Tourism has a broad mandate to advance economic growth, jobs and opportunities for the people of Bermuda. It has cross cutting responsibilities in the areas of financial services and other forms of trade; tourism; technology; and intellectual property. The services and products the Ministry provides touch the lives of all Bermudians and there has long been a desire to better align these two sectors. So we shared that our future marketing efforts will reflect the synergy of these two sectors, and cross over promotions aimed at enticing both business and leisure travellers.”

#BermudaTourism #Cuisine

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