Because the Virgin Islands remains “relatively safe,” the tourism industry shouldn’t be badly impacted by a recent spate of gun crimes, a junior minister has said.
Junior Tourism Minister Luce Hodge-Smith made the claim in the wake of a high-profile killing on May 10 that left Nyron Erickson dead beside the road in West End on a Saturday afternoon.
Speaking last week on the government’s Virgin Islands Voice programme, Ms. Hodge-Smith said she is concerned about recent events but visitors need not fear for their safety.
“We are a relatively safe community,” she said on the May 14 broadcast. “Nothing to have persons who want to visit our territory for vacation or to do business — that they need to be that fearful. We welcome them, and I think that they could still feel safe coming here.”
Ms. Hodge-Smith, however, said levels of violent crime are nevertheless too high.
“We have had quite a bit of gun crimes in our community,” she said, adding, “I would just like to say, ‘Put the guns down.’”
Responding to a listener’s question on the upcoming August Emancipation Festival, Ms. Hodge-Smith said there are currently no plans to beef up security at the annual event, but the situation would change if a threat were detected.
She added that the festival helps with the government’s aim of creating a year-round tourism trade and getting away from the notion of a summer “slow season” for tourism.
Deputy Premier Julian Fraser spoke similarly, saying he hopes the recent “spate” of gun crimes was a “flash in the pan” and that the latest killing will not lead to “reprisals.”
Meanwhile, Premier Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley said he wants to boost tourism by using financial incentives to encourage people to build villas that can be rented to visitors. This strategy, he said, can help grow the tourism property base while bringing returns to residents.
“It’s something I have been conceptualising: what type of incentives we can offer to persons who want to get involved in Republic on Tuesday for similar discussions.
“We are seeking different trade routes, different supply markets, and seeing what areas that we can cooperate in in the best interest of the people of the Virgin Islands,” he said.
Trump reversal
The comments came after the premier praised Mr. Trump’s sudden decision to reverse a previous plan to slap massive fees on Caribbean shippers that use China-built ships in US ports.
“The fact that we in the Caribbean have been exempted from that is very good news,” Mr. Wheatley said during the government’s May 14 broadcast of Virgin Islands Voice. “But we cannot afford to rest on our laurels.”
The premier also stressed the importance of dealing with the cost-of-living crisis in the territory.
“Of course, we have a great deal of uncertainty in terms of the trade policy of the United States and other places,” he said. “And in addition to that, there is always another crisis which shows us that we need to focus more on our food security. So we are being proactive, even with the good news.”
He also hailed a recent move by Jamaica to appoint VI-based attorney Paul Dennis as honorary consul to the territory on May 12.
“There is great potential there through strengthened relations with Jamaica,” he said, adding, “We are on the move. What we are doing is strengthening our relationships.”
Mr. Dennis, senior partner at VI law firm O’Neal Webster, is a Jamaican who has lived in the territory for 32 years.
In a statement at the time of the appointment, Mr. Wheatley said the move “signals a new opportunity for deeper engagement between the Virgin Islands and Jamaica, paving the way for collaboration in trade, economic cooperation, agriculture, border security, education and cultural exchange.”
The premier also praised Lorna Smith, the junior minister of financial services and economic development, for leading the overseas push.
Last May, when she was deputy premier and minister of financial services, Ms. Smith headed an 11-day trade mission to the far east that included Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen and Singapore.
China represents more than 40 percent of the VI’s financial services trade, Ms. Smith said when she returned from the trip.
At the time, there were 77 trading VI companies based in Shenzhen alone, representing a combined value of $3 billion in investments, according to the government.
The government and its financial agencies also have been working to strengthen ties with Malaysia in the past year.
Also in the works is a plan to set up another overseas office to increase investment from Latin America, with Panama being the favoured site.
