Bermuda Tourism Authority (BTA) is hosting a series of free workshops this week, starting this evening, to help stakeholders make the most of TripAdvisor.

The latest statistics reveal that 49 per cent of Bermuda’s air visitors go to TripAdvisor to research the island before they visit.

Officials from TripAdvisor are in Bermuda to present five workshops in the Hamilton, St George’s and the west end.

“Half of all Bermuda air visitors go to TripAdvisor to scout places to eat, visit and shop before they arrive on the Island,” said Alastair Jack, who works directly with TripAdivsor as the BTA’s partnerships and promotions manager.

“The first phase of our strategy is designed to help stakeholders manage their online reputation on TripAdvisor so they can drive more visitor traffic into their establishment.”

The BTA plans to work with TripAdvisor to create a destination guide for Bermuda that will allow travellers on smartphones to access and use the guide even when not connected to a data network.

The Bermuda Economic Development Corporation, West End Development Corporation, businesses in St George’s and the Chamber of Commerce have all been included as part of the BTA’s outreach to recruit participation in the workshops.

Chairman of the Chamber’s restaurant division, Chris Garland, said: “TripAdvisor is an important player in the travel landscape, especially for restaurants, so naturally we support the work the BTA is doing in this area.

“If all of us can strengthen our online presence individually It will raise the reputation for the destination as a whole.”

The St George’s workshops will take place today at the Grotto Bay resort. Hoteliers are invited between 4pm and 5pm, while all other stakeholders can attend between 5.30pm and 7pm.

The west end event will be held at Port Royal Golf Course between 3pm and 4pm tomorrow, while Hamilton will host two workshops between 9.30am and 11am and 4pm and 5.30pm at the Chamber of Commerce on Thursday.

Meanwhile, at noon on Thursday, TripAdvisor will present a Travellers Choice Award to the people of Bermuda based on the popularity of Horseshoe Bay with online reviewers.