The Bermuda Tourism Authority is offering funding to 23 new home-grown experiences next year.

Among the proposals approved through the Tourism Experiences Investment Process are a dune buggy tour, a water trasportation app and the Bermuda Triangle Beach Experience at Clearwater Beach.

Meanwhile local food and culture will be highlighted with Sip & Savour Bermuda Food Tours and Wild Herbs N Plants of Bermuda.

And Bermudian performers will take stage in an expanded version of the Made in Bermuda festival.

Pat Phillip-Fairn, BTA chief product and experiences development officer, said: “It’s rewarding to see so many passionate and creative new entrepreneurs gravitate toward tourism and we’re delighted that the quality this year is the highest we’ve seen since we began this process in 2014.

“We spend a lot of time communicating tourism trends to the public and we hold workshops to empower local entrepreneurs.

“That outreach is paying off and we see this as very encouraging for the future of Bermuda tourism.”

Next year, the Tourism Experiences Investment Process will offer support to 55 experiences, including 23 new proposals.

In total, $838,000 has been allocated for the various experiences, with about one-third of that funding going to newly supported experiences.

About 70 per cent of the investment for 2018 will go to experiences characterised as sports and adventure, while the remaining 30 per cent is directed towards arts and culture initiatives.

A BTA spokesman said that among the supported projects is Bermuda by Dune Buggy, a “low-noise, electric vehicle tour experience that will travel via public roadway in the west end making stops at key sites”.

Also supported was WaterRide Transport, an app which was awarded a cash investment for its innovative approach as a water shuttle service.