The Bermuda Tourism Authority [BTA] has launched an online platform to support local businesses that have moved quickly in the wake of COVID-19, innovating what they do to remain viable and continue serving customers.
“Couriers and restaurants are offering kerbside, takeout and home delivery. Yoga instructors are promoting classes online. How-to webinars have been created to assist entrepreneurs and small businesses. And many retail stores are bolstering e-commerce platforms to handle a new wave of online purchases from local and overseas customers now staying at home,” the BTA said.
“To support them, the BTA created an internal COVID-19 Stakeholder Taskforce, made up of team members in its New York and Bermuda offices, who gathered local vendors’ details via online surveys to push out to the world. A dedicated page created on GoToBermuda.com offers a platform for listings of operational businesses: food and beverage outlets, retailers and niche service providers.”
“Our team is totally inspired by the wealth of creative ideas from so many stakeholders to keep their businesses running and customers served during this period of social distancing,” said Interim CEO Glenn Jones.
“The ingenuity displayed at this moment in our history reflects our country’s agility—which is also the driving mantra of Bermuda’s National Tourism Plan. Agility is what Bermuda’s economy is best known for and what it needs now more than ever.”
Businesses wishing to join the BTA listing can complete a brief form posted on the site; their details will be verified, then added. Stakeholder outreach, travel updates and other helpful resources—including links to social-distancing guidelines and government alerts—are also featured on the platform.
“This project is just one of various initiatives we’ll be driving forward to support those in our industry hit so suddenly by this global pandemic,” said Mr Jones. “Tourism can lead the island’s comeback once the public-health threat is over. Industry must be ready on Day One for that recovery, and our team is already focused on laying the groundwork.”
To view the BTA’s Bermuda Resources During COVID-19 platform, go here.
