Can the sleepy pink sand beaches of Bermuda lure thrill seekers?

IF being Bermuda’s “Custodian of Historic Wrecks” makes anthropologist Dr.Philippe Rouja one of the island’s most interesting people, he’s in good company.

Bermudians tend to be well-educated and well-traveled, if for no other reason than the archipelago spans a mere 21 square miles from tip to tip, a fleck in the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by nothing else.If its citizens want to travel, they go abroad. The trick is how to get the right breed of tourists to come to them.Last year, Bermuda boomed with close to a million visitors — eclipsing its pre-COVID, all-time high of 808,000.

Yet part of the country’s enduring charm is that there are only so many roads and so many hotels.The seven main islands rarely feel overwhelmed or overwhelming.

Its beaches are as likely to be empty on a sunny Saturday as not and its humble fish shacks require no reservations. But that is slowly changing.Most tourist arrive by cruise ship at the Royal Naval Dockyard.The come for good golfing and good fish and good weather, but their trips tend to be short getaways.

Rouja has a solution.He hopes by refocusing on the islands’ adventure — rather than rum cocktails on a pink sand beach — that he will entice perhaps fewer but more impactful tourists, who stay longer and return frequently.After all, this is a place where you can go “Star Trek diving,” as Rouja called it, picking a random place to drop an anchor and know your chances are better than not of stumbling across a famous shipwreck.“Shipwrecks pull people in and sell Bermuda,” he said. Nevertheless, top lodging and fine food are still essential to success.

On that front, there are enticing new entries to the scene.In 2017, the stunning Loren at Pink Beach opened to guests, besides hotel rooms, the property has villas that are independently owned, a hospitality model that offers foreigners a way to invest in a country.Those hotel rooms are beautifully appointed, each with an ocean view, and the food at t...