Most of bermuda’s hotel rooms are sold out until July, according to the Department of Tourism.

Director of Tourism, William Griffith, said focusing on North American tourists was proving to be successful.

“The proximity message is key to our strategy in driving visitation to Bermuda this summer,” he said. “We’re optimistic heading into June as most of our hotels are reporting near sell-out through the end of July.

“New flight service, including the recent launch of WestJet's non-stop flights from Toronto, will help boost tourism to Bermuda from the Canadian market, while the seasonal USA3000 non-stop flights from Baltimore will help our visitation from the Baltimore and mid-Atlantic region.”

Bermuda has lost at least 274 hotel rooms since the end of 2008. That is an approximately 11 percent reduction in the number of hotel rooms available at Bermuda Hotel Association properties compared to last year.

* For the full story on the Department’s summer marketing strategy read tomorrow’s Royal Gazette.