Bermuda is in urgent need of a new airport and more hotel beds to meet the demands of the modern tourism age, according to airport boss Aaron Adderley.

Mr. Adderley may only have been at the helm since May, when he took over as General Manager from Jim Howes, but he's got plenty of plans in the pipeline.

Among them: boosting links with South America in the hope of increased visitors from Brazil and Argentina, adding a new flight from the Tri-State area and tweaking existing schedules to make it easier to reach Europe.

Mr. Adderley, who at 36 may be the youngest ever airport boss, went to the Routes conference in Stockholm last month where he courted six airlines — some already flying to Bermuda and others considering it.

The results were promising, with a link established with a city in the Tri-State area.

Mr. Adderley said he's not yet at liberty to reveal the exact location, but when studies are done in Bermuda about the best new destination, this one always pops up.

He recently visited South America along with American Airlines representatives and Department of Tourism officials to look at drumming up business from Brazil and Argentina.

"These are two destinations where they do have an affluent market, folks who do like to travel mainly to the US and cities like Miami and New York.

"Obviously there's the opportunity for them to spend a couple of nights in Miami and then come to Bermuda for a week or so.

"We're looking at partnering with someone in South America to try and be our representative down there and try and build business for Bermuda," he revealed.

"We were talking about the PGA Grand Slam and Angel Cabrera when we went to Argentina so it was good timing. The receptivity we received was phenomenal... they were absolutely tremendously impressed with Bermuda."

In addition, existing air carriers flying to and from the Island will adjust their schedules for next year, making it easier for passengers to catch convenient connecting flights to Europe.

However, despite keenness to bring more passengers to Bermuda, Mr. Adderley is concerned that flights and bed availability are not in sync.

The problem was compounded this summer by the closure of the Wyndham resort and means the brakes have had to be applied on efforts to exploit new markets.

"We need more available beds is basically what we're saying, so our approach to 2008 is going to be one that is a cautionary approach. There are still a number of cities where we would like to either see new service or competing service, but at the same time we don't want to further destabilise the balance between available seats and available hotel beds," he said.

Work with the Hotel Association is ongoing — but Mr. Adderley said there is ultimately only one solution.

"We're always in discussions. There are certain routes that, if an airline decided tomorrow they want to start service, I think we will have to be in a position where we say 'OK, come on board, let's go, let's try and make this happen.'

"But in terms of actively looking for services outside of those primary targets that we have in mind, no, we are not going to at this point because we simply don't have anywhere to put the passengers," he said.

Meanwhile there are tricky issues to deal with on his own doorstep. The L.F Wade International Airport terminal — parts of which date back to the 1950s — will reach the end of its life expectancy within a couple of years.

"A new one is needed, and will be built either on the existing site, or at the northern or western end of the airfield.

A vision for what the new terminal will look like has been drawn up by world-renowned US firm HNTB which is working on a 20-year master plan for the airport.

Two magnificent concept drawings adorn Mr. Adderley's office wall. While he isn't ready to make them public before the "green light" is given to the building project, a sneak preview given to The Royal Gazette reveals a state of the art building reminiscent of the iconic Sydney Opera House.

Full of curving shapes and glass, it looks like it is ready to soar off into the skies just like the planes in the background.

More than a pretty piece of architecture, the new terminal will have practical benefits.

It will be better protected from the storm surge of water that pushes in from Castle Harbour during hurricanes, which wreaked havoc during Fabian. It will also integrate with the rest of the transport network, and is likely to boast a ferry stop.

"If you look at ocean-side hotel properties in the Island like Cambridge Beaches and the Southampton Princess, these are all hotel properties that have marina facilities or dock facilities and there's no reason why a passenger can't hop on a ferry, leave the hotel, and come straight to the airport," he said.

But all this is dependent on funding. Mr. Adderley recognises that in Bermuda there are many competing capital projects — including a new Causeway and hospital — and project planning has not reached a stage where a definitive price tag can even be put on the terminal project.

"Where that falls in the pecking order I don't know. It's not my decision to make but we want to be prepared," he said.

Meanwhile improvements to the existing building, including a wider range of food and drink vendors, expanded outdoor areas and shopping opportunities, are being explored.

"Our key priority right now is to try and squeeze as much out of this facility as we possibly can," he said.