Bermuda business people are queuing up to take advantage of a series of seminars designed to help them boost tourism and win a share of a $1 million pot of cash.

The series of “lunch and learn” seminars run by the new Bermuda Tourism Authority (BTA) have so far been over-subscribed — which the BTA’s Pat Phillip-Fairn said contradicts the view that Bermudians are not interested in a career in the visitor industry.

“It’s very encouraging — it shows that people want to be involved in the industry and I think it’s great people want to be part of the revitalisation of tourism in Bermuda,” she said.

The BTA launched the series of lunches after it called for submissions for its new Tourism Experiences Investment scheme earlier this year.

A total of 33 cultural and sporting events, out of a total of more than 130 applications, got cash support from the BTA to help them attract visitors to the Island.

Ms Phillip-Fairn said: “To have had that response to the call for submissions then the response to the lunch and learns shows the level of interest in tourism.”

She explained that some of the submissions were rejected because they did not fulfil the criteria, which includes increasing visitor numbers, especially in the off-season, and customer expectations.

“That means they didn’t necessarily demonstrate how they would drive visitors to the Island or the benefit to the economy that would result,” she said.

“From what we have seen, the people who made submissions are passionate about the industry, they want to participate, they want to be part of solutions.

“We found that we could possibly help with people making their submissions with a better understanding of what expectations are, a better understanding of the National Tourism Plan and a better understanding of the BTA.

“We felt it would be useful to have a series of lunch and learns in the run-up to the next round of grants, which will happen in September.”

Seminars to run through June, with support from the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation (BEDC), will help would-be tourism entrepreneurs to focus on the practical side of running a business as well as the tourism product.

“The BEDC are helping us out because some of the submissions we looked at in terms of form as well as substance, so next week’s lunch and learns are looking at creating a business plan,” said Ms Phillip-Fairn.

“We could see that some of the submissions could benefit from that kind of knowledge.

“We are talking to people from a tourism perspective and the BEDC is talking to them from a business management perspective. That’s another aspect that came out of the process as well.”

Subjects on the menu for June include how to attract visitors, how best to use partnerships to pull in business and first-hand experience from a successful entrepreneur.

Earlier lunch and learn programmes, which cater for 12 to 14 people, focused on visitor expectations and how best to meet their needs, as well as the Island’s plans to give tourism a shot in the arm.

“Our decisions and changes should be very much driven by what the customer is expecting,” said Ms Phillip-Fairn.

Previous participants backed the programme to improve the tourist experience. Paige Belvin said: “I came into the lunch and learn not quite knowing what to expect and left excited to find out more.

“The presentation was informative and just enough, giving us statistics and a knowledge base of tourism, but really laying out what is needed for Bermuda, stirring the creative mind.

“I look forward to the lunch and learn sessions to come and thank all those involved.”

Vinzie Zuill said: “I encourage all ambassadors of tourism to attend the Bermuda Tourism Authority’s lunch and learn sessions.

“The session has definitely helped me to align my organisation’s experiences with the Bermuda Tourism Authority’s expectations and tourist needs.

“It was also a great opportunity to network with other organisations and people to see how their services and collaborations can assist our experiences and vice versa.”