Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
In the early years of the 21st cen-
tury, Bermuda continues to attract a
growing number of American compa-
nies that are incorporating in Bermuda
to lower their taxes without giving up
the benefits of doing business in the
United States. Insurance companies
have led the way, but now manufactur-
ers and other kinds of companies are
following. It's been trumpeted in the
press as “profits over patriotism.”
Becoming a Bermudian company is a
paper transaction that can save mil-
lions annually.
And as aggressively as Bermuda is
pursuing business, it's also more aware
than ever of its fragile environment.
Bermuda's population density is the
third highest in the world, after Hong
Kong's and Monaco's. Because the number of annual visitors is 10 times higher than
the population, Bermuda has had to take strong initiatives to protect its natural
resources. Environmental protection takes the form of stiff anti-litter laws, annual
garbage cleanup campaigns, automobile restrictions, cedar replanting (a blight in the
'40s and '50s wiped out the native trees), lead-free gasoline, a strict fishing policy, and
other measures.
Along the shaky road to self-government, Bermuda had some ugly racial conflicts.
Riots in 1968 built up to the assassination of the British governor in 1973. But that
was a long time ago; today, Bermuda has the most harmonious race relations in this
part of the world, far better than those in the United States, the Caribbean, or The
Bahamas. There's still a long way to go, but Bermudians of African descent have
assumed important political, administrative, and managerial posts in every aspect of
the local economy. Bermuda hasn't quite reached the point where the color of your
skin is unimportant, but it has made more significant advancement toward that goal
than its neighbors to the south.
In the 21st century, Bermuda's average household income rose to a healthy
$68,500—contrast that with some of the less fortunate islands in the Caribbean,
many of which don't even have the budgets to compile such statistics. Compared
with residents of Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and certainly Haiti, no one is really poor in
Bermuda. On the downside, home prices in Bermuda are at least three times the
median cost of a house in the United States or Canada.
As a tourist destination, Bermuda has impeccable credentials. It was a resort long
before Florida, Hawaii, Mexico, and many other places. Over the years, it has suc-
cessfully exploited its position in the northwest Atlantic between North America and
Europe. It is even working to throw off its image as a staid resort, hoping to project a
lively, more with-it atmosphere (although it has a long way to go in that department).
The United States remains its largest market—about 86% of visitors are Americans—
but in recent years more and more visitors from Europe, the Far East, and the Near
East have been seen dining, drinking, and shopping in the City of Hamilton.
Impressions
. . . Bermuda is, without doubt, a suc-
cess. It is, generally speaking, a peace-
ful place—more so than many Caribbean
islands nearby. [Still, there are critics,
from whom] you hear complaints about
the Americanization of the place, the
suggestion that Bermudianism is merely
an anomalous cultural hybrid, a mule of
a culture, attractive in its own way but
of no lasting value or use. And yet it
does seem to work; it is rich, it is as con-
tent as any place I know, and it is stable.
—Simon Winchester,
The Sun Never
Sets: Travels to the Remaining Outposts
of the British Empire
(1985)
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