Emerging from the ocean dripping wet after a 20-foot cliff jump, Bill Hanbury explained that adventure is what the “young millennials” are looking for in a vacation.

The Bermuda Tourism Authority chief executive officer joined a team of his employees to take the plunge at the popular cliff jumping spot Admiralty Park to highlight Bermuda winning the accolade of “Best Island” in Outside magazine’s annual Best of Travel awards. Mr Hanbury said he has done cliff jumping in Bermuda on many occasions and says it is just the sort of activity that the young, adventurous traveller is seeking and that Outside magazine has recognised in its selection.

He told The Royal Gazette: “It’s great fun and this is typical of what people can do when they come to Bermuda.

“The whole island is a tremendous adventure experience and I think Outside magazine’s recognition is really important to us — this is a global magazine, a global audience and to have that kind of designation is really powerful stuff.

“This type of experience is aimed at what we call the young millennials who are the new generation of visitors to Bermuda.

“What they want is an experience that is not curated, that they can just go out and do without having to take a tour because the global visitor doesn’t want structure.

“That is why Bermuda is so great because the whole Island is a resort in itself. From a safety perspective and an adventure perspective it just doesn’t get any better than this.”

Bermuda picked up Outside magazine’s top Island accolade after “travel veterans”, largely made up of travel writers and editors, “scoured the globe” and made their final submissions.

The magazine, which sells almost 700,000 copies per month, gave a glowing account of Bermuda.

It said: “With a mild year-round climate located less than two hours from numerous East Coast cities, Bermuda has become a mecca for those seeking diverse adventure on land and water. Thrill-seekers cannot miss cliff jumping and cave diving; other visitors are enamoured with SUP yoga and snorkelling. Bermuda has also increasingly become a training destination for both amateur and professional athletes, with a series of races and competitions attracting entrants from around the world. The Island most recently won the distinction to be home to the 35th America’s Cup in 2017. Events begin on-island this year, with the America’s Cup World Series racing event from October 16 to 18.”

Outside editor Chris Keyes added: “Outside has been covering the adventure-travel beat for nearly four decades. We know this terrain, and now we’ve narrowed your choices of hotels, destinations, outfitters, and travel gear from approximately 10.6 million to 40. The final choice is still on you, but now the task is at least manageable.”

The full list of winners will appear in next month’s issue and will appear on www.outsideonline.com/bestoftravel. The magazine edition will be available on March 17.