Premier Ewart Brown received an unexpected award for his contributions in tourism at the World Tourism Summit in China.

During the three-day conference, Dr. Brown received the Tourism Leadership Award from the organising committee of the second World Tourism Summit which ends today.

The award was presented to the Premier by World Summit Secretary General Sujit Chowdury and Ambassador for Tourism in Jordan Sen. Akel Biltaji.

Sen. Biltaji said: "For a country the size of Bermuda to be recognised in the largest city, in the largest country, on the largest continent in the world is a crown-jewel moment for a tourism product."

Dr. Brown said he was shocked to receive the award on Bermuda's behalf and wasn't made aware until his name was called during the presentation.

He said: "I had no idea the award was coming. So I was totally caught flat footed by it.

"When I finally realised what was going on and I was holding this heavy award, I was just honoured to receive it from these global leaders.''

Dr. Brown continued: "The presenters said they were presenting the award to me, but it was really for the Bermudian people and their collective success in tourism. That's important because we sometimes don't appreciate at home that people around the world regard Bermuda as a success in tourism.

"I was flabbergasted by the number of people who came to me during the summit asking me, 'What is your secret to success?' And I just said we're trying to bring tourism back in our country and make it strong again."

The presentation was made during a dinner at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Approximately 300 representatives of the global tourism community were present with a panel of the leaders choosing Bermuda and Dr. Brown for the award.

During his acceptance speech, the Premier said it would take about four years to create a strategy to win the minds of Chinese tourists.

He explained that was fine with him because hotels are currently booked solid but said when new hotels are opened, he hoped to fill the beds with Chinese tourists.

The dinner included performances of Chinese cultural song and dance.

Bermuda represented the smallest country at the summit and is a global partner for the summit along with the World Trade University, the Beijing Tourism Administration and the Government of Tanzania.