Government is right to kick off 2025 by organising a comprehensive public conversation about the tourism sector.
Now it’s the public’s turn. We urge all residents to participate in the sorely needed Virgin Islands Tourism Summit 2025 today and tomorrow at Peter Island Resort. After that, we urge them to continue providing input on the way forward for the sector.
The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sustainable Development is hosting the summit this week in partnership with the BVI Tourist Board and the BVI Yachting, Hotel and Tourism Association.
The agenda includes panel discussions with local and regional tourism experts, a format that is likely to give attendees a clearer view of the challenges and opportunities facing the sector.
Equally important is the opportunity for attendees to speak their minds, contributing to the input that officials will need to guide the national tourism policy.
That policy, according to Premier Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley, is a necessary step before the government can draft the national tourism plan that successive governments have been promising for more than a decade.
The plan is urgently needed. The VI tourism sector includes various components that range widely: high-end resorts and bespoke villas, cruise ships, charter yachts and bareboats, dive operators, taxis, shops, bars, restaurants, hotels, tour operators and others.
Many of these subsectors have similar needs, but certain hot-button issues can be controversial: how to allocate scarce marketing dollars; which tourism infrastructure should be prioritised; and how government can best support this key pillar of the economy, to name a few.
Meanwhile, long-standing tourism policy questions typically garner passionate debate in the community: How many cruise ship visitors should the territory allow? To what extent should foreign investment be encouraged? To what demographics should the BVITB market? Should the runway at the Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport be extended to accommodate larger jets?
The tourism summit, in our view, doesn’t need to resolve these questions fully. But providing a forum where views can be earnestly and fairly exchanged is the right way forward.
Before the tourism policy and plan are developed later this year — a deadline that must be met — the government should also continue the conversation by holding public meetings in each district across the territory. These meetings should be held in multiple locations and communicated well in advance.
Public discussion, after all, is vital to finding any sort of territorial consensus for the forthcoming strategy.
However, hosting the summit and convening other dialogue are not enough. Policymakers must also ensure that they truly listen to residents’ needs and concerns and make them a central part of the forthcoming plan.
In that regard, we hope the Peter Island summit this week will herald a new beginning.
