Long-term tourism plan needed
Recent indicators suggesting a rebound in Virgin Islands tourism are good news indeed, but a comprehensive, long-term strategy is needed to ensure continued success.
Overnight-visitor numbers were up slightly during the recent high season, and many hoteliers and yachting professionals reported that business improved. Still, the sector is far from where it was before the global economic crisis that started in 2008, and serious challenges remain.
The cruise ship sector, for example, appears to be in crisis. Ships are pulling out at an alarming rate as their parent companies are switching to larger ships that can’t dock in Road Town. Meanwhile, airlines have cut back around the region, making it more difficult to reach the VI.
Government’s main solutions to these two problems — extending the cruise ship pier and expanding the Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport — have proved quite controversial.
Government and other proponents claim that these steps are necessary to preserving the VI tourism industry in a changing global landscape. Opponents, however, argue that the proposed solutions are incompatible with their vision of a healthy tourism sector.
These two issues are perhaps the highest-profile examples of many current debates that point to a very fundamental question: What, exactly, does the VI want from the tourism industry?
This question needs to be answered as thoroughly as possible if the territory is to make wise decisions going forward. Otherwise, work to improve tourism will be piecemeal at a time when a comprehensive, coordinated effort is most needed.
In the December Speech from the Throne, the government promised a “rescue-and-recovery strategy” for tourism. Also in recent months, officials have rightly met with tourism stakeholders in public forums, and they have outlined various plans and initiatives: appointing a “tourism liaison;” extending marketing efforts to more countries; opening Gun Creek, Virgin Gorda, as a port of entry; creating a tourism ministry; and appointing a tourism manager in the United Kingdom, to name a few.
In general, these proposals seem sound, but a comprehensive plan outlining future goals will be essential to their productive implementation in the long term. To our thinking, this strategy should be based on independent expert analysis and community input. It should look ahead at least 20 years, and it should be public.
With such a roadmap in place, the territory will be in a position to sustain and improve the tourism industry in an increasingly competitive atmosphere for years to come