The Unofficial Pop By Pub Crawl I organised on Tuesday evening was a big success, tourists loved the flags ? once they figured out what they were.

The Pop By flags are an initiative of the Department of Tourism. Locals can pick them up from gas stations, along with a free pack of ginger beer. A leaflet that goes with the flag and soda says they are to be taken to the beach and inserted in ?two feet of sand?.

?Our visiting tourists will know to ?Pop By? and have a drink of ginger beer,? the leaflet reads. ?With little effort you can do your part. Remember, tourism?s success is everyone?s future.?

A Press release also urged locals to bring them to events like Cup Match and other social gatherings.

There has been some controversy surrounding the flags, early last week I wrote an article about a number of schools that have chosen not to hand them out to their students because of safety concerns. Moreover, a recent visit to local beaches by another reporter found that there were no flags displayed.

Last week, I decided to have fun with the campaign and adapt the use of the flags for something I could convince my friends to do ? an Unofficial Pop By Pub Crawl.

Nine of my friends and I took to the streets of Hamilton proudly displaying our national pride and waving the Pop By flags.

Joanna Dove, 21, said the pub crawl was the only way she would have been likely to participate in the campaign.

?I might not bring the flag to the beach with me but we thought a pub crawl was a great way to use the flags,? she said.

Seven of the girls who participated in the pub crawl have full-time or part-time summer jobs in the tourism industry.

While the concept of a pub crawl was not one of the ways the Ministry of Tourism suggested locals use the flags, I felt it was a way to keep with the spirit of the campaign and have a good time.

The rules were simple, I got the girls to agree to carry the flags or to attach them to their skirts throughout the evening which began at 10 p.m. at Docksiders Pub and ended at 3 a.m. at Splash night club.

The girls had to ask the tourists that approached if they had any questions, answer them, and ask if they were enjoying their vacation.

Tuesday night was chosen because a number of cruise ships are in port and tourists are usually out and about while many locals are home resting.

The bright flags definitely attracted the attention of tourists ? even if they had no clue why nine women were waving them.

Dave from British Columbia, Canada, hadn?t heard of the campaign but said he thought it was a great idea.

?I?ve been on the Island for two weeks and I?ve only met a few locals,? he said.

After meeting the pub crawl, he said he?d be keeping an eye out for more friendly locals waving flags.

Kenny from Florida said he thought the flags were a great conversation starter.

?The flags made it easy to approach a large group of pretty girls,? he said.

The girls did their best to answer Kenny?s questions, in particular when he wanted to know how to get to the Somerset Cricket Club for the weekend Freddie McGregor reggae show.

Christen, 22, was visiting Bermuda from Miami, when he had the luck of bumping into the unofficial ambassadors.

?What?s great about the flags is they show how proud Bermudians are of their Island,? he said.

Christen had a lot of questions about Bermuda?s international business industry and said he is thinking of applying for a job in Bermuda when he gets home.

Men weren?t the only ones attracted by the flags, however, Hamifah had just arrived in Bermuda from Indonesia two weeks ago.

Though she?s not a tourist she said she loved the idea of the campaign.

Hamifah was glad to see that the flags weren?t just at the beach.

She said she felt visitors might feel less intimidated about approaching strangers in the bar scene.

Rebecca from Boston was visiting for a wedding held at Wyndham Bermuda Resort and said she?s fallen in love with the Island.

She said she wished she?d seen the flags before because she was leaving the next day.

As the night wore on, tourists began to figure out what the flag girls were up to and questions started flowing in.

We even started a limbo competition on the Splash night club dance floor with the flags, which all of the tourists quickly got involved in.

In the end the flag gals decided the Pop By campaign is a great way to meet and mix with tourists.

We had loads of fun and everyone enjoyed helping out the visitors and ensuring they were having a great time.

Pub crawler Jennie Panchaud had a few suggestions to help the campaign out.

?They should make some smaller ones so people can bring them to public places, the current ones are rather large,? she said.

?Also bars and tourist shops should hang them outside their doors with a small sign explaining that tourists can come in and ask a question if they need some assistance.?

Meanwhile, the pub crawl gals have decided we should have another Unofficial Pop By Pub Crawl in late August, which we hope will be bigger and better.

We would definitely recommend bringing your Pop By flag to the beach and elsewhere because it proves to be a great conversation starter and a fun way to meet new friends.