Bermuda will host a three-day conference for wedding and event professionals in December of this year.

The Coterie Retreat will be brought to the island by Munaluchi Bride Magazine in what is described as a “profile-raising opportunity for Bermuda”.

Nicole McKenzie, sales and marketing director for the multicultural wedding publication in the United States, said: “People are excited. They’re ready to pack their bags and get here.

“I can tell you the buzz is extremely high. We just ended our retreat in December that was in South Africa and everyone was trying to figure out where we would be going next.

“How will we top South Africa? We made the announcement we were coming to Bermuda and we have received positive responses from day one.”

The conference for more than 100 wedding and event professionals will be hosted at the Hamilton Princess Hotel & Beach Club.

Victoria Isley, Bermuda Tourism Authority chief sales and marketing officer, added that the BTA has a “dedicated strategy for growing the destination weddings space”.

And she said that attracting groups like the Coterie Retreat is part of the BTA’s sales and marketing efforts this year.

Ms Isley added: “The Munaluchi community is influential so the quality of its Coterie Retreat in Bermuda will be critical towards attracting future wedding and honeymoon business.

“Alongside our local tourism partners, we will be working hard to show off all that Bermuda has to offer in the area of romance travel.”

Jacqueline Nwobu, Munaluchi Bride Magazine CEO and editor-in-chief, added that the conference aims to expose Bermuda to the destination wedding industry.

She said: “We really want our planners to connect with the locals here in Bermuda. We want to be able to put Bermuda on the map in terms of romance travel.”

Ms Nwobu and Ms McKenzie visited Bermuda last week and met with local brands and retailers, event venues and hotels.

According to the BTA, the retreat group is estimated to generate 600 room nights and $300,000 in economic impact for the island’s economy during the shoulder season.

Tim Morrison, Hamilton Princess general manager, said: “We are delighted that Hamilton Princess & Beach Club has been chosen as the host hotel.

“This is an exciting networking event for the wedding and event professionals from around the globe and is an important profile-raising opportunity for Bermuda.

“We are confident that the planners will fall in love with the island once they are here.”