A new Facebook page has been set up dedicated to finding ways to revitalise St. George's.

The page, 'St George's, BERMUDA Revitalise!!!!!' first appealed on the social networking site in June, and has already amassed almost 400 supporters.

One of the page's administrators, who asked not to be named, said that they were thrilled with the reaction the page has been getting.

"Not only have we had a lot of comments, but those that are interacting are giving good comments, and we are trying to run with many of them," she said.

She said the idea came from the East End Chamber of Commerce which wanted to advertise the town and garner feedback, but didn't have a large advertising budget.

"We were thinking, what can we do?" she said. "We don't have a lot of money to put into a campaign? A Facebook page is an easy and cheap thing to do."

While many suggestions focused on attracting visitors, others discussed how to bring locals to the East End.

Some of the ideas discussed included bringing a car or boat show to the town, and asking Government to set up an East End office so residents could pay parking tickets or make TCD payments without driving to Hamilton.

Among the ideas discussed are an extensive pedal bike rental scheme for both locals and visitors, a payroll tax deferral, as recently suggested for restaurants and a "ghost town" market.

"We had heard comments that the stores are not open when people want to shop, and as a direct result we are trying to organise Thursday as a market night," she said. "We figured if they are calling St. George's a ghost town, we could run with it. It's kind of ironic because we're hoping the town will be packed with peddlers.

"There are around 2,000 people with peddlars licences, and as long as they're licensed and it's a legal thing, we want them to come up here.

"The Chamber of Commerce in St. George is also trying to get the stores to stay open late as well."

While she said that she was excited by the reaction of the public to the idea, some people on the page argued that stores might do better to open sooner as well as later.

Wendell Burchall Jr suggested in a post that the stores in the town open earlier because while ships arrive at 8 a.m. and the ferry pulls in at 9 a.m. many stores don't open until 10 a.m.

"So many visitors shop early so they can explore later while others do the reverse, you thus miss out on half of your potential sales," he wrote. "Rarely will someone sit on your stoop waiting for you to open, even if they love that item in the window."

Fiona Doe agreed, adding that the closed businesses should be given a fresh coat of paint. "They really bring down the tone of the place with peely paint and varnish, dusty windows and faded 'closed' signs."

Other ideas ranged from organised jet ski races to a giant water slide into the harbour.

The page has also become a digital bulletin board, posting reminders of events in St. George's, and promoting East End attractions like the Carter House.

Over the Cup Match weekend, along with posts supporting the St. George's team, the page listed the stores and businesses that were staying open in the town, and their opening hours.

St. George's Mayor Kenny Bascome said he had been approached about the idea before the page went up, and he fully supported the idea.

"The young lady who set up the site, who I speak to regularly, went up to me and asked if I would mind if she did this. I said it's something that should be done," he said. "It's something I feel is a real asset to the community."