Neglected areas of town will not be left behind as tourism chiefs try to turn Hamilton into an iconic modern city, Mayor Graeme Outerbridge said yesterday.Mr Outerbridge will push for North East Hamilton to feature prominently in a central destination hub as part of Tourism and Leisure Europraxis’ plan for a billion dollar tourism industry.He said a strong desire to rejuvenate the so-called forgotten areas — helping them play catch-up with Front Street and Reid Street — was reflected in the overwhelming victory for Team Hamilton at last month’s Corporation elections.Hamilton will be one of five tourism destination hubs, according to the new Tourism National Plan, which aims to increase visitor spending from $400 million a year to $1.5 billion by 2022.At a public presentation on Monday night, project leaders said they aim to turn Hamilton into an “iconic modern city with Bermudian flare”.This would include conference facilities and services, performing arts, signature restaurants, high-end retail, live entertainment, nightlife venues and waterfront enjoyment.Reacting yesterday, Mr Outerbridge told The Royal Gazette: “I think it’s good to finally have a national plan. It’s a timely report, especially with the fall-away of international business.“The City is being targeted as a hub, and we are encouraged that we are seen as that.“North East Hamilton has to be a part of any development. I think the story of the election was the residents expressing their view that we need to take care of the whole City and addressing the neglected issues.“That’s going to involve a combination of working with the people and more closely with the Government to make it secure in the first instance. We need to make Hamilton safe from Front Street to North Street.”Mr Outerbridge was elected Mayor and his Team Hamilton colleagues were voted on to the Corporation, after promising residents they would turn attention to the ‘back of town’ area.On Monday night, Tourism Board chairman Maxwell Burgess said relaxing Bermuda’s gambling laws is crucial to developing Hamilton as a buzzing night-time centre.Mr Outerbridge said he is neither for nor against gaming, but is pleased the public seems set to decide on the issue through a referendum in the near future. He noted other cities had been able to underwrite taxes through revenue from gambling.He warned of a difficult financial time, as the Corporation has been hit by the loss of wharfage fees after municipality reform was approved by MPs two years ago.“Our finances really have to be looked at carefully for next year’s budget,” he said.Other hubs will be set up in the East End, including St David’s, the South Shore, Dockyard and in Bermuda’s waters.The National Tourism Plan also sets out the need to target the luxury market, convert cruise visitors into air arrivals and extend the tourism season into the winter months, creating more than 6,000 jobs over the next decade.Ronnie Viera, of the Chamber of Commerce said: “The Chamber is represented on the new Tourism Board by executive director Joanne MacPhee, who has had input into the new Tourism Plan.“Certainly the Chamber is supportive of having a multi-year strategy that the community can embrace and work together to implement.“Hamilton, being one of the “hubs” of interest, needs an injection of excitement and rejuvenation which should include more out door dining, more street festivals, more live entertainment and some form of casino gambling.“This will require a change in our past conservative approaches and possible city/planning regulation changes but it is this type of excitement being sought by visitors. In addition, we have a waterfront which is highly under utilised as an entertainment area so there are a number of things that can be done to achieve the goals mentioned in the plan.“It is important to note that the Chamber has members across the Island and all of the “hubs” identified in the plan so we look forward to working with all of the relevant stake holders to be successful in attracting more visitors to the Island.