To remain competitive in today's troubled economy, we must ensure that Bermuda's tourism product remains top notch. Premier and Tourism Minister Ewart Brown are continuing to deliver enhancements to our tourism offering. Here's the latest:

Premier Dr. Ewart Brown formally welcomed Director of Agronomy Steve Johnson to the public golf courses staff this week. He was hired by the Trustees of the Government Golf Courses – a board which manages Bermuda’s public golf courses.

Mr. Johnson is heading up the grass growing, landscaping and land cultivation efforts at the Port Royal Golf Course now that the redesign project is complete and the grass is filling in.

Premier Brown, who is also Minister of Tourism and Transport, said: “Port Royal is an important part of the overall Tourism product in Bermuda so Mr. Johnson’s role is critical. Based on his wealth of experience I have no doubt he will help us deliver a world class golf course that is commensurate with our international high regard as a vacation destination.”

Port Royal will be the site for this year's Grand Slam of Golf. And, Steve Johnson comes with an impressive resume:

Before joining the team at Port Royal Mr. Johnson was growing at the Taghazout South Course near Agadir, Morocco. Previous to that he was Superintendent of the Green Monkey Course at Sandy Lane Resort, Barbados for three-and-a-half years which included overseeing the preparation of the Country Club Course for the 2006 World Cup of Golf.

And, tomorrow, we will show off our progress so far:

At the “first look” event tomorrow the Premier will brief the public and the press on the course’s progress.

“I’m going to update what’s been happening at Port Royal over the past year to transform it into a course worthy of international acclaim and professional competition,” the Premier said. “There is a lot of news to share on that front.”

Stay tuned for more progress from your PLP Government!