Photos & Video: Travel Group Visits City Hall

September 20, 2014

Hamilton Mayor Graeme Outerbridge was joined by Deputy Mayor Donal Smith in welcoming a visiting group of travel professionals to City Hall on Thursday [Sept 18].

About 400 members of the American Society of Travel Agents [ASTA] and their guests arrived on Wednesday from New York City on board the Norwegian Breakaway for a three-day stay on the island.

Hamilton Mayor Welcomes ASTA Bermuda, September 18 2014-12

The Mayor and Deputy addressed a group of representatives in the Mayor’s parlour before moving out to the City Hall foyer where a welcome reception was held for the visiting group and invited guests including Shadow Minister of Tourism Zane DeSilva and Shadow Minister of Environment & Infrastructure Glenn Blakeney.

Mayor Outerbridge, Deputy Mayor Smith and ASTA and Norwegian Cruise Line representatives:



ASTA President Zane Kerby said, “We have been treated so warmly by all the people of Bermuda. The 450 travel agents who have traveled here on Norwegian’s beautiful Breakaway — representing 24 different countries — are very excited to be here and are enjoying the cuisine, architecture, and golf courses of Bermuda.”

ASTA Chairman Roger Block noted he has been to over 89 countries and said, “The culture here is the most inviting and warmest of almost anyplace I have traveled in the world.”

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Comments (16)

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  1. Creamy says:

    This is instead of the mythical Conference of Black Mayors, I take it?

    • Barracuda says:

      yeah, where are the black mayors??

    • Triangle Drifter says:

      Oh dear! You would have to dredge that great non event that the COH/PLP hoped was forgotten by now.

      Shame on you.

  2. Raymond Ray says:

    Donal is NO public speaker! Of course, we all expected you were going to take advantage of this opportunity to,”put a feather in your own cap” by mentioning something that is only a dream until coming to fruition…But what more can anyone expect from a Deputy Mayor…And in me mentioning Mayor, I want to congratulate Mayor Graeme Outerbridge for making a “semi-professional representation” of a public speaker :-)

  3. skinnydipper says:

    Wow this is crazy…well I guest Hamilton is better for tourism then the UNESCO world heritage site…or have more beaches then St George’s (oh yeah Hamilton has no beaches).. and not to mention the many forts for the tourist to visited and the 13 or more places to eat around St George’s+. Does Hamilton have a train tour or the oldest Anglican church out side of UK. So really what does the city of Hamilton have over St George’s in the way of a tourist product over THE NUMBER ONE HUB IN THE TOURIST PLAN. So Tell me why did St George’s almost get next to none mention with this travel agent visit.

    • somuchless says:

      You sound jeleous. But contact tourism and let us know what they say.

    • We Are Not Amused! says:

      I bet they were bored out of their skulls!

  4. sad says:

    they could have had a better time going to the zoo!

    • mixitup says:

      6 in one hand half a dozen in the other.

    • Creamy says:

      I think it would have been fairly similar.
      Has Donal put those parking signs back up outside his business yet?

  5. bluebird says:

    As the minister of Finance did stay……
    “MONEY” does not grow on trees
    “MONEY” comes from outside of Bermuda.
    We need the travel Agents to have a good exspirence as we shure do need them to help us rebuild some of the tourist industry.
    It will take time of which we do not have a lot of.
    AS GOVERMENT IS RUNNING OUT OF OTHER PEOPLES MONEY.

  6. Seriously if I was a visitor reading the above blogs or just someone overseas checking out Bernews, looking at the dumb and negative comments above would cause to classify most Bermudians as illiterate or just plain stupid.The very fact that we have this group on our shore is a plus and if anything we should embrace the opportunity to enhance our tourism product.instead we get educated persons talk out of the wrong side of their human body.Bermuda is in bad shape and no sign of recovery anytime soon, so why not work toward a resolve and things that work then to always be pulling down each other.Bermuda has a lot to offer but the local population is a lot to be desired to put up with such arrogant cold self righteous individuals and I say it blatantly across the board, get a life and grow up, some of us have other jurisdictions we can reside while others have no were to go. When the international sector dwindles down to nothing I want to see what these carcasses have to say then, because they are part of the bigger problem

    • Raymond Ray says:

      I agree Duane. They, (meaning a portion of Bermudians) will often write online “off the wall crap” without first acknowledging “they are cutting off their own nose to spite their face”. In other words Bermudians are their own worse enemy…Sad yes, but true :-(
      As mention before: “Them that show disrespect to others, (in any manner one can imagine) have popped up like dandelions after a good spring rain”.

  7. Rick Olson says:

    The ironic joke of all this is the travel agents are now dinasours and irelavent in the industry IMO.

  8. Silence Do Good says:

    The Travel Agents went to see Bermuda’s only circus of clowns Team Hamilton.

  9. St. D says:

    Stop thinking of the old fashion travel agent who did the booking because you couldn’t. Travel agents now ar personal travel concierges who assist their clients just like a hotel concierge. Difference is they have an ongoing relationship with their clients and are always on the lookout for ideas to build their clients’ next adventure. Now what sort of clients do you think are happy to pay for a personal travel concierge?