Vexed Bermoothes

The Bermuda Government has still not released any financial information on the Bermuda Music Festival held last autumn.

Originally started as a tourism venture, the event has transformed into a local party – even as the budgets climb year after year.  One has to question the effectiveness of investing our tourism marketing dollars into it.

The Bermuda Music Festival should be cut loose and allowed to sink or swim as a private venture.

But this raises a thought:  it seems that many Tourism initiatives fail because we seem to be marketing to ourselves instead of outside “real tourists” who might want to come here.

Well, why not build a tourism event around the “Bermuda diaspora” of Bermudians, family, and ex-expats around the world?  Come on back for Bermuda’s 400th anniversary!

Official Bermuda talks about “national pride” all the time – and this seems like a real opportunity to reach out to those who have a sense of connection to our island.

One example is the “Montserrat Festival” which has become a “homecoming” for Montserratians and others with a connection to the country.  That sounds like fun!

Happy new year!