Tourism

With its great natural beauty, welcoming population and wealth of amenities, Bermuda is a natural as a tourism destination. In recent years, financial services took over from tourism as the key contributor to GDP, but the government aims to revive the tourism sector with a new focus on luxury. As Premier Ewart Brown puts it, Bermuda is going for platinum, gearing its tourism development to the high-end market.

Tourism sector aims to cope with global financial crisis

Bermuda is well placed to focus on upscale tourism. With one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, Bermuda is easily accessible from the United States and yet a world of its own thanks to its tropical beauty, attractive lifestyle and safety. High-quality hotels and resorts, a wide range of sports facilities, superlative shopping, cutting-edge services for business travelers, and exciting events year-round mean that Bermuda has something to please all visitors.

The current global economic downtown will certainly have an impact on Bermuda’s tourism plans, but the government aims to keep development on track. In a recent address to the nation, Premier Brown said, “We are very much linked to the rest of the world, so we are not immune to the challenges that the global economy is experiencing.”

To cope with this challenge, the government will “reassess our strategies, work with our tourism partners and make an all-out focused effort to keep our numbers as high as possible,” Brown says.

Throughout, Bermuda will remain well-positioned to forge ahead.”

Newstead Belmont Hills Golf Resort and Spa

“A fabulous hotel product.”

Kevin Petty, Owner Developer

Developer Kevin Petty is changing the face of Bermuda and jump-starting the island’s tourism renaissance with his fabulous Newstead Belmont Hills Golf Resort and Spa.

As Premier Ewart Brown recently commented, Bermuda is entering a “platinum period” of tourism development with a focus on upscale attractions for a high-end market. The premier added, “When I talk about the platinum period, I’m talking about a place like Newstead. It’s a fabulous hotel product. The rooms, the views, the customer service and the amenities are all top-notch. I think the future of Bermuda tourism looks a lot like Newstead thanks to people like Kevin Petty – a talented Bermudian whom I like to call a dreamer. I’m sort of a dreamer too, so he and I relate very well.”

Known as a visionary, Petty transformed a sleepy cottage hotel into Newstead Belmont Hills, and in so doing created a benchmark for Bermuda’s evolution into one of the world’s top choices for travelers in search of the ultimate in luxury.

Like Bermuda itself, Newstead stays true to the island’s rich history while enthusiastically embracing modern tastes. Mark Twain and Woodrow Wilson visited the hotel that has been transformed into Newstead, and Petty chose to retain the earlier property’s bougainvillea-covered entrance (now a spot to take afternoon tea). Newstead’s new entrance is an ultra-contemporary glass-walled space with an infinity pool and a stunning view across the water to Hamilton Harbour.

Tradition and innovation

This mixture of tradition and innovation is characteristic of Newstead, which combines the island’s renowned natural beauty and traditional hospitality with cutting-edge amenities like 42-inch flat-screen TVs in every room, some of the island’s largest suites, floor-to-ceiling windows in the 5,000-sq-ft Samahdi Spa, a restaurant (Blu) named by Condé-Nast Traveler as one of the top 100 restaurants in the Caribbean, the highly anticipated new Beau Rivage restaurant, and a golf course that has won the “Best of Bermuda Gold” award for three years in a row.

Newstead was Bermuda’s first new hotel in 35 years, and Petty has made sure that everything meets the highest standards. He also hand-picked a largely Bermudian staff who provide the sort of pampering that keeps guests coming back.

Petty describes Newstead as “a great place to stay”, while General Manager Bushara Bushara says, “Newstead is a place where you can come with your family and feel at home. It’s not lip-service here; it’s a genuine feeling.”