At long last, the government has published a draft National Tourism Policy.
After two decades of talk, false starts and missed deadlines — stretching through boom times, Hurricane Irma, Covid-19, and the subsequent return of visitors — the territory finally has a comprehensive roadmap to guide the economic pillar responsible for most of the territory’s jobs.
For that alone, the government deserves credit.
But the timing makes this milestone even more significant. While the territory has spent years sporadically debating tourism in broad terms, the numbers have been telling their own story: Cruise tourism is outpacing overnight tourism.
Last year, nearly three out of every four visitors arrived by cruise ship, driving a new overall arrival record even though overnight arrivals lagged more than 25 percent below pre-Irma numbers.
That trend carries implications that no serious tourism conversation can ignore.
Yes, cruise passengers bring business. But they also bring disproportionate congestion, demands on infrastructure, pressure on natural sites, and an economic model in which too much spending can leak away while too little reaches the wider community.
In a territory that sells itself as an exclusive, high-end destination, the risk is obvious: Unmanaged volume — from the cruise and overnight sectors alike — can undermine the very product that attracts higher-spending guests.
The draft National Tourism Policy 2026-2036 does not shy away from this dilemma. It acknowledges that the Virgin Islands is at a “crossroads,” and it rightly frames the issue not as a simplistic choice between cruise and luxury tourism but as an urgent need to strike a sustainable balance.
That is exactly the conversation the territory should be having.
The other reason the draft deserves praise is the process behind it. The policy’s development was grounded in extensive consultations across the territory from early 2024 through mid-2025, and it drew input from public officers, private-sector stakeholders, young people and other members of the public.
The government also published supporting reports from these consultations, along with regional consultation findings and a report from the Tourism Summit held in January 2025 at Peter Island Resort.
Such documentation and transparency matter. For too long, residents have seen major national decisions made with little explanation and even less follow-through.
Now, at least, the government is demonstrating that it understands tourism is not only a business but a national project that affects everyone: taxi drivers, hotel workers, vendors, restaurateurs, boat operators, public officers, residents living near tourism hubs, and the next generation, among many others.
We also commend the government for releasing the draft policy for public input. A policy of this scale should not be sprung on the public only after it is already on the path to being formalised and adopted. Giving people a chance to weigh in is the right approach.
However, the consultation window — with comments due by Feb. 27 — is simply too short for a 127-page document that will shape the territory’s tourism future for the next decade. Moreover, while the draft generally seems sound, it also has various problems. Repetitions, vagaries and unclear passages must be revised, tightened or clarified before the document is finalised.
Even engaged citizens, industry professionals and community organisations will struggle to properly digest, discuss and respond to such a lengthy policy in less than a month.
If the government is serious about meaningful public participation, it should extend the consultation period for at least an extra two months.
Moving forward, of course, a policy is only the beginning.
The draft outlines many sensible ideas: carrying-capacity studies, better visitor management at high-traffic sites, island-specific priorities, improved data collection, service standards, and major legislative reforms including a Tourism Development Act, to name a few.
These are not small undertakings. They will require coordination, funding, political will and sustained attention beyond press releases.
Moreover, the policy is meant to help guide another step: a National Tourism Strategy. Government must move expeditiously to draft that strategy and bring it to the public as well.
Then leaders must finalise and adopt both documents and use them to carry the tourism industry forward into a better future.