Up to 700 visitors at a time will be ferried into St. George's from a cruise ship anchored off of the old town this summer.

This and other moves to rejuvenate the former capital were discussed at a packed town hall meeting of St. George's business owners on Thursday.

The tender Bermudian, a large ferry capable of carrying up to 700 passengers, will service the Veendam, a 1,400 passenger ship which will make 24 weekly calls to St. George's this summer.

Due to the ship's size it is unable to dock in the town. Instead the Holland America cruise ship will anchor in Murray's Anchorage, an area off of Fort St. Catherine weather permitting.

According to Harbour Master David Simmons, the trip should take approximately 30 minutes and ferry the passengers to Penno's Wharf.

"If we can move the people, it will help the town," said Mr. Simmons.

"The hardest thing will be to do more with less this year. But the Ministry has an obligation to help the town in hard times and these are hard times."

Larry Jacobs, Transport Coordinator for the Ministry of Tourism and Transport said: "There are a lot of committed individuals in St. George's and we hope the prospect of more visitors keeps them motivated.

"The fact that visitors will be ferried in and out of the town rather than just walking off the ship should keep them in the town for longer.

"They are more likely to eat in the restaurants and spend money in the town if they are ferried in. The Ministry of Transport, Tourism and Marine and Ports will do everything we can to help St. George's."

Mr. Jacobs and Mr. Simmons also told the meeting that the ferry service will be returning to the town this summer.

They said that including a commuter trip in the morning and one in the evening, there will be six daily trips between Hamilton, Dockyard and St. George's.

During the well-attended two hour meeting a number of other measures to help the town, which has been hit by a series of businesses closing, were discussed.

Kirby Brackstone, chairman of the East End Chamber of Commerce, discussed the potential for new businesses to set up in St. George's.

Mr. Brackstone said the abandoned buildings around the town could provide office space for people in the service industry or even an IT company that does not necessarily need to be in Hamilton.

He also discussed the potential to attract more locals to the town with local services.

"It is just as easy for people living in Hamilton Parish to come to St. George's as it is to go to Hamilton," said Mr Brackstone. "We need to bring these people in. We are hoping that the opening of a fish monger and a possible farmer's market will attract locals and foodies."

Calls for better promoting of the town were made by some of the meeting's attendees and ideas for advertising the town as a whole rather than individual businesses were also discussed.

Billing the town as a "green, eco–friendly business area" was another idea with business owners saying that organic flowers and plants could be sold alongside the farmer's market and fish monger.

St. George's Mayor, Kenny Bascome, also said he was starting an "activities committee" that would work towards "enhancing" the Tuesday evening Market Night and capitalising on St. George's status as a World Heritage Site.

"We are trying to build a rejuvenation of the town tonight," said Mr. Bascome. "Tourists like culture and history so we want to make their visit to St. George's something that they will long remember making them more likely to come back in the future."

Closing the meeting Mr. Bascome emphasised the importance of the business owners' participation in creating a "new beginning" for St. George's adding that he has been invited by four organisations and charities to talk about the town's situation.

"I am like a child at Christmas when I have the chance to talk about and promote St. George's," he said.

He added: "The Corporation of St. George's is not charged with managing businesses but we will do our part if you do yours."