Superyacht captains and owners took part in a special welcome function this week, organised by the Bermuda Tourism Authority, inviting them to return to the island.

Addressing the crowd, Kevin Dallas, BTA CEO, urged participants to enjoy as much of the island as they can.

Dallas said: “The point here is that even when there is no major sailing event, Bermuda’s island life is worth crossing the Atlantic for. And as Bermuda continues building hotels, adding chauffeured car services, growing marina inventory and winning favour with younger visitors, she is also proving to be an uncommon investment opportunity.

“While we’re very grateful to have you here for the 35th America’s Cup, our true aim is to make sure you fall completely in love with the way of life out here. We know that’s the secret to having you return in the future.

So enjoy your evening and enjoy Bermuda — I look forward to seeing you again sometime soon.”

Pat Phillip Fairn, the BTA’s chief product and experiences officer, said the event was aimed at building a relationship between the island and the ship’s owners and captains.

“Obviously the owners are very important, but the captains are also influential and getting their assessment of the destination, from a race management perspective and an infrastructure perspective, is also very important,” she said.

Ms Fairn said that the BTA had been working to get feedback from the boat captains to ensure the body understands what the island is doing well, and identify measures that could potentially make Bermuda a bigger draw for superyachts.

“We are getting a lot of intelligence directly from the customer,” she said. “We are very encouraged by what the captains are saying. It seems as though we are really tuned in to what the customers are looking for. I think the expansion of our marina infrastructure is absolutely critical, and the regulations, ensuring that we can see those charter relaxations become permanent. That would be important.”

While the decision to allow visiting superyachts to be chartered during the America’s Cup drew the ire of some local boat operators who said they were missing out on business opportunities, Ms Fairn feels a balance can be struck.

She said: “There has been a lot of discussions, and we know the ACBDA have had direct conversations with the local chartering industry,” she said. “I think we have to look at the market in segments. It may well be that the local charter industry serves a particular segment in a particular way and we have to look at other ways to serve the other sector. As a destination we need to be able to have a blend of what we are offering.”

She also noted the economic benefit of visiting superyachts, saying: “A yacht of about 80m injects thousands of dollars into the economy. When there’s an owner on board, that’s $127,000 a week being injected into the economy.”

David Tydeman, CEO of yacht developer Oyster, which is hosting a regatta in Bermuda next May, said allowing visiting yachts to be chartered on the island could help attract business.

He said: “I think the relaxation of the charter regulations have had an impact. There are a lot of Oyster owners who try to get six to eight weeks a year of charter work, and with this as a destination, I could see people coming with or without a regatta, offering the boat as a charter here for a week on course to the eastern seaboard or the Mediterranean.”