The new management company for Tobacco Bay in St George’s is aiming to set the standard for Bermuda beach developments by offering “the most comprehensive” range of activities on a public beach.

Now managing Tobacco Bay is “new beach experience management company” Beach Boys. The company hopes that by providing “clean, safe, [and] authentic fun” for locals and tourists alike it can inspire future developers to do the same.

Tourists and residents are now being offered a broad range of activities, from paddle-boarding and fly-boarding, to snorkelling and jet ski tours. Belcario Thomas, one of the company’s three principal directors, said one of the biggest changes was also the most simple: cleanliness.

“We start with providing a clean, safe facility. We saw in exit surveys from the Department of Tourism that one the complaints was that our beaches were under maintained, not so clean. We actually take that quite seriously and have scheduled cleaning of our bathrooms. We want to make sure that ladies and families are comfortable at the space and so we’re not only cleaning the bathrooms, but also cleaning the beach on a regular basis,” he said.

Beach Boys also hope that the new range of offerings will give Bermuda a leg up on the competition by being able to provide the very experience potential Bermuda tourists are finding in other destinations.

“We generally know that our competition has a beach offering that is more elaborate, more enhanced than Bermuda’s. Our target market customers are seeing these beach products and we not only don’t compete, but we don’t have the basics generally, like clean facilities, food, drink, toys, and people that care for the space and making it safe. That doesn’t exist here, and our customer expects it. So this is a demonstration of what can be done on a small scale.”

Mr Thomas said a trip to Tobacco Bay today means bringing nothing but yourself and a sunny disposition.

“You can show up as you are and be entirely taken care of, to the point that we’re providing you something to wear, a towel to dry off, water to rehydrate, a drink, a frozen cocktail to enjoy, and some delicious food to eat, some toys to play with, some chairs and umbrella so that you don’t bake and have a place to go and wash yourself off,” he said.

The final result, Mr Thomas said, is a demonstration of what a national beach development should look like — one that offers the full package, while breaking down barriers and uniting people under the banner of fun-in-the-sun.

“We have created 10 new jobs in under a month. That’s not including the economic multiplier effect, including taxis getting more money, et cetera. Because you have about 200 people coming to the beach per day. More people drawn into Tobacco Bay through the town means, hopefully, more eyeballs on other businesses.

“The great thing about the beach is that it breaks down all personas of segregations. The water and the sand holds in the trastafarians, Rastafarians, billionaires, [and] fun-loving cruise passengers.”

But beyond providing the bare product, Beach Boys said its job is to provide an engaging experience.

“We have an engaging all-Bermudian front line team that doesn’t just say, ‘You want a chair? Go up there and get it yourself.’ We engage. We call taxis for you. We average 20-25 calls to arrange transportation [per day],” said Mr Thomas.

While the new offerings can be seen as crucial for tourism and the town of St George in general, Beach Boys believe such developments are of even greater national import.

“We can be smarter about [our tourism product]. In fact, we have to be smarter about it in order to pay off the credit card bill. The next generation needs access to new economies in order to develop a way to pay off our debt. It’s pure survival.”