Newly appointed Tourism Minister Patrice Minors wants to create synergy between tourism and international business.Yesterday she attended a lunch in New York City for tourism media and travel agents. Mrs Minors, who is the Minister of Business Development and Tourism, was in the US promoting Bermuda as a business and leisure destination. She said: “Today’s event was an important one, which looked to ensure that Bermuda remains top of mind in such an important target market.“While we highlighted the wonderful and amazing things about Bermuda, we also shared the reality that Bermuda, like other destinations, has faced its share of challenges, due to the global financial climate. Without a doubt, tourism is an important sector of the global economy, and tourism is a critical component in Bermuda’s overall economy.“Tourism is our second largest industry, behind international business, and so we see great opportunities in having the twin pillars of our economy under one umbrella.“The Ministry of Business Development and Tourism has a broad mandate to advance economic growth, jobs and opportunities for the people of Bermuda. It has responsibilities in the areas of financial services and other forms of trade; tourism; technology and intellectual property.“The services and products the Ministry provides touch the lives of all Bermudians and there has long been a desire to better align these two sectors.“So we shared that our future marketing efforts will reflect the synergy of these two sectors, and cross-over promotions aimed at enticing both business and leisure travellers.”The Bermuda Department of Tourism also gave a presentation.The media also had the chance to sample traditional Bermuda cuisine such as fresh local rockfish, Johnny cakes, peas and rice and fish chowder prepared by one of Bermuda’s top chefs, Herbie Bascome, of Fairmont Southampton.Mrs Minors returned to the Island last night.