Tourism is set to “shoot through the roof” following a post-Hurricane Irma high last year, Premier Dr. Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley has predicted.
At a public event to mark his government’s first year in power this month, Dr. Wheatley said a resurgence in the Virgin Islands tourism trade is already well under way.
“Last year, we had the second-best tourism numbers we have had in our history,” he said. “This year, our first quarter numbers tell us that we are up 25 percent across all categories. So we expect to have better overnight numbers this year to last year. And very soon you will see us get back to the numbers of 2016 of 400,000 overnight guests.”
The premier added that tourism is one of the two pillars of the territory’s economy, along with financial services.
“Tourism is doing historically well,” he said. “In 2023 we achieved the second highest visitor numbers in the history of the Virgin Islands, with 994,253 tourists.”
In the first quarter of this year, he said, numbers continued to climb across the board.
“All our numbers are up from the first quarter of 2023,” he said. “Cruises are up 31.6 percent. Overnighters are up 24.5 percent, and day-trippers are up 33.8 percent.”
Expansion
The premier added that tourist expansion, such as the planned reopening of the Peter Island Resort this year, will help further energise the industry.
“We are going to see our overnight guests shoot through the roof,” he said.
He added that further increases will follow the planned expansion of the Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport.
“We will be extending our runway, which will allow bigger planes to come from further distances,” he said. “The prospects for our tourism product are great.”
‘Get involved’
The premier also urged Virgin Islanders to get involved in the tourism sector.
“Persons just have to get involved in the hospitality sector as opposed to standing on the outside saying that there are not enough opportunities in the Virgin Islands,” he said. “You have to get involved in the areas which are booming, and that is tourism.”
Playing on the territory’s slogan of “Nature’s Little Secret,” the premier insisted the VI should be much better known around the world.
To that end, he said, a publicity push is planned to raise awareness in Latin American markets and in regions of the United States including the midwest.
Keith Dawson, the public relations manager at the BVI Tourist Board, agreed that visitor numbers are increasing markedly.
“We are not yet where we would want to be compared to before the hurricane, but things are definitely improving,” he said.
Cruise conference
The premier’s remarks came shortly after a VI delegation led by Communications and Works Minister Kye Rymer attended a cruise industry conference in Miami, where it was stated that 393,605 cruise passengers visited the VI in the first quarter of the year — up by 90,000 from the same period last year.
