What do you see when you turn up at the North American Tourism Office? The Royal Gazette sent a reporter to New York to find out.

Although located in the heart of Manhattan, the Ministry of Tourism's New York office is not exactly easy to find — and certainly doesn't scream 'Bermuda'.

Just a block down from Grand Central Station on famous 42nd Street, the team spearheading the Island's tourism sales campaign in the lucrative US East Coast market is housed in a modern tower block — on the 20th floor.

Passing trade is obviously non-existent and it is perhaps not surprising that Premier and Tourism Minister Ewart Brown has more than once in the past explained that a cheaper location is being sought.

The ground floor of the high rise is occupied by a branch of Bank of America so unless you know the exact address of the Bermuda office, it would be easy to walk straight past it.

But to one side of the bank, glass doors lead to a spacious lobby manned by a couple of security guards.

Our reporter asked the receptionist where the Bermuda office was — and was promptly asked to provide his name in return.

"They like to know who's coming up," the receptionist said as he dialled through to the office.

Exiting the elevator on the 20th floor, which the Bermuda team shares with several other businesses, The Gazette's reporter eventually found the office behind a pair of large wooden doors, which at first appeared to be locked — not a very inviting welcome.

While the small reception area was decorated with a Bermuda poster and a 'Feel the Love' logo across one wall, the windowless room was dark and depressing rather than bright and lively.

A doorway from reception led to a warren of corridors and offices, but there was scant evidence that anyone was beavering away behind monitors or on the phone pitching the Island to potential customers in other gateway cities.

During the few minutes that our reporter sat waiting to speak to the office manager, he could hear snippets of a conversation between two colleagues in another part of the office, but otherwise, the place seemed deserted. There was no sign of any clients or staff.

While the receptionist kept busy handling calls — and seemingly dealing with one customer query at one point — the place wasn't exactly a hive of activity.

The words this week of one former Tourism Ministry staffer perhaps described it best: "Staff are non-existent and what staff are there are just going through the motions without any passion or love."