The world wide web is the key to boosting Bermuda’s flagging tourist industry.

Bermuda Tourism Authority (BTA) chief Bill Hanbury said the new body had focused 82 percent of its advertising online in the second quarter of the year, compared to just 56 percent in the first quarter, when tourism was still a Government department.

Mr Hanbury said: “We’re going to invest in brand building for the long term embracing social media more than ever before.”

He added that the BTA would also use the internet to track potential visitors in a bid to spend money where it was most likely to bring results.

“As a country, Bermuda has a tremendous about of data available to it — we just haven’t used it.”

The media advertising mix for the second quarter also included nine percent on search engine marketing, and just six percent on print ads.

In the first quarter, 27 percent of advertising was print, with eight percent devoted to search engine marketing.

Mr Hanbury said: “I am not suggesting this is the perfect combination of media but I can say we’ve gone much harder for the digital applications. We just think that’s where the industry is going.”

And he added customised pages had been created to target specific groups like families, “urban adventurers” and “empty nesters” had also been created.

Among other key tasks for the new authority are to pitch the Island as a year-round destination and give it a distinctive identity as an “Atlantic destination”, with shorter flight times from key markets like the US, Canada and UK than many Caribbean islands.

And Mr Hanbury questioned the value of events like boxing matches for tourism, compared to sports like fishing, sailing and golf, which better matched its image as an upmarket destination.

He added: “It’s not costing us any money — we are already spending money on these assets — it’s how we focus on these assets we have.

“We are absolutely down to the last sticks on the Americas Cup and we’re absolutely confident we can host the Americas Cup.

“We think our product needs to be marketed to the upper end of the demographic. We consider ourselves a quality destination for discerning consumers.”

And he added that Bermuda “doesn’t have to go to China or the Middle East to be successful” and that resources would be better spent in attracting North American and European visitors.

Mr Hanbury said: “There are plenty of folks in these geographic areas that will make us successful.

“It’s not costing us any money — we are already spending money on these assets — it’s how we focus on these assets we have.”

He added that surveys had shown that the dual British and Caribbean strands of Bermuda culture was a major draw for tourists.

Mr Hanbury said: “They enjoy that Bermuda is in some ways connected to that Caribbean vibe. The same is true of the British heritage — service, courtesy, Bermuda shorts and tea time.”

The number one market for Bermuda based on internet searches is New York City, followed by Boston and Fairfax/Arlington in Virginia.

The top targets based on searches are mostly in the US and Canada, with London the highest ranked European city for searches in sixth place, with Vienna, Austria, coming in tenth.

And Bermuda appears popular in the Chilean capital of Santiago, which comes in at 24 on the search list.