For Claire Smith, who owns the Bermuda Triangle store in Dockyard, the America’s Cup “is such a great thing”.

The businesswoman sees huge potential in the event, not only for her store, but others across the island.

“I think for my business it will be an enormous boom as there are so many people coming to Bermuda and people that have money,” she said.

The more affluent visitors are the ones that Smith believes Bermuda should be targeting, and said the cup gave the island the chance to do that without spending huge amounts on advertising.

“These are the profile of tourists we need to target, and this is a way to showcase Bermuda without having to spend vast advertising dollars,” she said. “This amount of exposure is worth a fortune.

“There will also be a lot of people who have not been to Bermuda before and who will hopefully want to come back.”

The boosted to Smith’s business will have a trickle-down effect too, with Smith planning on employing extra staff for the anticipated increase in customers.

“We will be employing extra staff during the event, so it will have an impact on employment in Bermuda as well as putting us in the international spotlight,” she said. “The benefits of this event will occur for many years to come.”