Bermuda.com launches new online map for visitors

Online map: Visitors to the island can plan their visits to Hamilton, Dockyard and St George on their Internet-connected devices (see web image top). 

The digital version complements the hard copy Shopping & Dining Map (bottom left) which has proved very popular with tourists. *Photos bermuda.com

Bermuda.com today unveils a new online map for Bermuda visitors optimized for mobile devices and thought to be even more accurate than Google Maps.

The map, called the bermuda.com Shopping & Dining Map, focuses on businesses that serve visitors like restaurants, retail outlets and services providers in Hamilton, St. George and Dockyard. 

The map is found in the menu options at bermuda.com and at the URL bermuda.com/maps.

“Local knowledge is the reason our map points are more accurate than Google’s,” said Glenn Jones, general manager of MediaHouse, parent company of bermuda.com and Bermuda Sun. “Most of the businesses on the map are also our bermuda.com partners. If the information is outdated or the map point is slightly off they contact us and we make the adjustment manually.  

Accuracy

“Google Maps is our starting point and we’re building on the accuracy of what Google puts out there. So our home-grown map will always be a step ahead.”

There are more than 360 locations listed on the map. Locations can be searched by name. If users access the map from their smartphone they can dial or e-mail the business directly.

There is no cost for a business in Hamilton, St. George or Dockyard to list in any of the 11 categories, but there is a charge for adding enhanced features to a listing like YouTube videos, photographs, restaurant menus and special offers.  

Enhanced features are attractive to business owners because they are more likely to garner user engagement and drive consumer behaviour.

Free for advertisers

It’s important to note, however, some advertisers will not pay for enhanced features.

Print advertisers in the 2014 version of the bermuda.com guide magazine and bermuda.com Shopping & Dining Map get the enhanced features free.

“This is a way for us to reward our legacy clients who we value dearly, while growing new business on the digital side,” said Mr. Jones.

“Those print advertisers just need to call us and we’ll get them sorted for this online product.”

The hard copy Shopping & Dining Map is in its third year and has been very popular since its inception in 2012. The advertising  spaces are sold out and the map itself is consistently in high demand among visitors.  

The digital version is designed to complement the hard copy map because visitors can plan their visits to Hamilton, Dockyard and St George on their Internet-connected devices before they go.

When they leave Internet connectivity, they can take the hard copy version with them as a reference.