David Burt, the Premier and tourism minister, has painted a positive picture of the industry – despite the fact that visitor numbers have plummeted in the past 18 months.

At last night’s Covid press conference, Mr Burt said that the Government was working to ensure that tourism would be competitive “beyond the pandemic”.

And he suggested that the coronavirus crisis had actually driven visitors to the island.

Mr Burt said: “We must continue to provide our visitors with the experiences and hospitality that have made Bermuda a world-class destination for decades.

“This past year presented us with unique challenges due to the coronavirus.

“However, we have still achieved great things such as the opening of the St Regis and the homeporting initiative, which has seen thousands of visitors coming to our shores.

“We did this by working together and making Bermuda a safe destination for tourists to visit.

“The Government and the Bermuda Tourism Authority have already begun to strategise what the next tourism season will look like.

“This will mean an aggressively creating a marketing plan to support our on-island stakeholders.”