The Virgin Islands may have reached its saturation point for cruise ships during the tourism high season, but it should work to attract more visits in the slower months, according to Premier Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley.
“We have probably reached our limit for the busy season: November, December, January,” he told the Beacon when asked if it is time to cap visits in peak months.
Mr. Wheatley, who is also the tourism minister, added that a new “balance” should be struck as too many cruise ships can lead to overcrowded beaches and strain on the territory’s infrastructure.
“I think during the summer, during the slow season, we would welcome more cruise ships,” he said during a recent interview, adding, “What we really need is a strategy to ensure that cruise ship passengers are properly dispersed.”
Hurricanes and covid
Mr. Wheatley added that the VI is roaring back after the twin disasters of hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017 followed by the covid-19 pandemic.
“We did very well with cruise ships in 2024,” he said. “We set a record. We set a record in 2023 as well. And cruise ship business is very important to us.”
Criticisms
But as cruise ship passengers have increasingly dominated total tourist arrivals, opposition members and stakeholders in the yachting and resort sectors have expressed concerns about overcrowding and other negative impacts. They have also stressed that overnight visitors generate much higher levels of spending in the local hospitality economy.
But the premier said the tourist dollars brought by cruise ship visitors boost the whole territory.
“We are making a living from driving taxis, vending on the beach, the businesses in Cane Garden Bay,” he said.
Cruise ships, he added, also augment the government’s coffers.
“The head tax that we get helps to support the Ports Authority,” he said. “It’s provided them with a great deal of income. It’s business that we value.”
Tourism plan
Such issues are part of ongoing public discussions as the government seeks input on a national tourism plan it hopes to complete by October.
Public meetings kicked off with a tourism summit attended by about 200 people earlier this month at Peter Island.
The premier said the summit, along with additional public consultations planned for the coming weeks, will all feed into the national plan.
The long-delayed plan — which has been promised by successive governments for more than a decade — will be the territory’s first such strategy since the 1990s.
Cruise ship arrivals totaled 768,293 in 2024, an increase of 6.8 percent on the 719,519 figure for 2023, according to the premier.
Last year also saw 305,876 overnight visitors in the territory, an increase of 16.7 percent on the 2023 figure of 262,082.
And day trippers rose 35.1 percent to 17,970 in 2024 compared with the previous 12 months.
British Caribbean News