Bermudians will be encouraged to travel further afield to Africa and parts of the Caribbean if they learn more about the African Diaspora, it was claimed yesterday.

And more people of African descent will be tempted to come to Bermuda if they discover the role it played in the dispersal of blacks during the trans-Atlantic slave trade, a workshop at the African Diaspora Heritage Trail conference was told.

Sharifa Burnette, of Aken Tours in Brooklyn, which specialises in trips to the Caribbean and Africa, said bringing all the elements of the Diaspora together as the conference was doing, would make selling trips around the countries easier.

"We are very excited about the African Diaspora Heritage Trail and this is a wonderful opportunity for the travel industry to promote not just a hotel," she said.

"The material Bermuda has put is wonderful for travel agents and I am hoping that more Caribbean islands will follow suit with this material that will make it easier to promote the Caribbean, African and Brazil to get the linkage to put them altogether."

Bermuda-based freelance travel consultant Barbara Bean said: "We need to educate people and this could be an opportunity for for them to come to this trail.

"If (Bermudians) go to the Caribbean and see the way it has influenced our way of thinking then they may want to venture off to the bigger world and go to Africa to do that.

"I was enthused by it. We like to shop but there are people who want to know about history. I am glad the Department of Tourism has started this because the younger people are not as educated because they haven't been taught or told.

"We want to go to London or the US and that's it. Hopefully now with this, we will travel more and get to Africa to know our roots and understand our culture."

But photographer Lloyd Webbe, who runs Unique Safaris from Hamilton, warned that not all people are suited to go to Africa because they don't know about the continent and embarrass the locals.

"Some people should not go. We go to some people's countries and we don't respect their culture and their money and when we leave, we don't know what we've done," he said.

"I've heard the term used many times `funny money' and people make strange faces about the food and they embarrass the people. I have to educate my clients about what to expect. Before we get caught up in sending people anywhere, we need to educate ourselves and understand the product."