After Premier Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley called for a “shared vision” last Thursday at the first Virgin Islands Tourism Summit, Shereen Flax-Charles had a question.
“What are the plans to balance cruise tourism with the other areas of tourism?” she asked, adding that she believes the territory is “very challenged by that.”
The premier, who is also the tourism minister, acknowledged that the VI has experienced overcrowding.
“We have to diversify the places in which cruise passengers go,” he said, citing beach management strategies in Long Bay and Brewers Bay as examples of ongoing work toward that goal. “But having everybody go to Cane Garden Bay — to go to The Baths and crowd the place — that’s going to degrade the experience, and I think that’s what we are recognising.”
Such discussions were held throughout the two-day summit at Peter Island Resort, which was attended by about 150 people in person and some 50 more online.
Other topics on the agenda ranged widely: using data in decision-making, educating youths in the industry, integrating culture into the tourism product, improving the VI’s customer service, managing growth sustainably, and many others.
Tourism plan in the works
The tourism summit, along with the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States’ regional tourism policy and upcoming consultations around the territory, will inform a national tourism policy that is expected to be completed by June, according to government officials. That policy, in turn, will then aid the development of the territory’s first national tourism plan since the 1990s, which the premier has promised will be completed around October after more than a decade of delays.
“This summit must serve as a turning point, a catalyst for meaningful change,” said Sharon Flax-Brutus, the interim executive director of the BVI Yachting, Hotel and Tourism Association.
Ms. Flax-Brutus also stressed the importance of collaboration.
“We hear the word used often, but let us be focused and mindful that collaboration does not mean to simply agree with any and every initiative,” she said last Thursday during one of the opening speeches.
“In my mind, it means discussion. It means sharing and listening to all views. It means looking at the pros and cons of all decisions and strategies and then deciding the best way to move forward.”
Other officials who gave remarks during the opening ceremony last Thursday included Joseph Smith-Abbott, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sustainable Development; Delma Maduro, the chair of the BVI Tourist Board; and Tourism Junior Minister Luce Hodge-Smith.
The summit also featured presentations from various tourism experts, panel discussions with industry stakeholders, and question-and-answer segments. Though breakout sessions were included in the agenda, they were not completed due to time restraints.
Assessing growth
The first panel, which took the stage after the opening ceremony, focused on topics including growth, sustainability and carrying capacity.
“I actually think we should see the growth as in wealth or value within the different sectors,” said panelist Miles Sutherland-Pilch, the general manager of Nanny Cay Resort and Marina. “And I think the way to do that is to do this capacity on the different sectors. Once we have that capacity, we can grow the value of that sector.”
Presenter Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, the Bahamas’ former tourism minister, touched on similar topics.
“Tourism is the most misunderstood, mismeasured and therefore mismanaged economic sector in the world,” he said.
An aspect of tourism that is often mismeasured, he said, is arrival data.
“So when we simply count arrivals as if each visitor is equal in economic value, that tells you that tourism is being mismeasured,” said Mr. Vanderpool-Wallace, who is also the principal partner in the Bedford Baker Group, a tourism advisory company based in the Bahamas. “It makes no sense for us to constantly tout the number of arrivals as if somehow every single arrival that’s coming into the country is equal to every other.”
He added that a cruise ship tourist should not be counted the same as an overnight tourist, because an overnight tourist — whether they stay on land in a hotel or villa or on the water on a boat — contributes more to the economy than a cruise passenger who may not even disembark from their ship.
Everyone involved
Mr. Vanderpool-Wallace also stressed that tourism affects everyone in a community, even if they aren’t working in what is considered a tourism business.
“Tourism is the only economic sector in the world where every single citizen of the country is involved, whether they like it or not,” he said.
This sentiment was echoed throughout the summit by speakers and audience members alike.
Mr. Vanderpool-Wallace also advised educating the public, especially youths, about the opportunities in tourism.
‘Everlasting bureaucracy’
The summit featured a total of four panel discussions, the majority of which included engagement with the audience through questions and comments. During a discussion on tourism investment, moderator Damion Grange asked attendees to share “low-hanging fruits that you would say as the stakeholders that the government can do right now to ease your load or to improve the way you do business.”
Several audience members recommended simplifying government processes.
Kim Huish, who works with the yacht Cuan Law, said that the requirement to deal with so many different agencies “makes no sense.”
“We have seven crew, and I deal with at least 10 different government databases,” she said. “Please simplify that.”
Lorna Smith, an opposition member and at-large representative in the House of Assembly, agreed.
“[One of ] the things that needs to be fixed in government is the everlasting bureaucracy,” said Ms. Smith, who attended the first day of the summit. “We have to fix this bureaucracy to get things done in terms of investment.”
Government was also advised to update its website.
Customer service
Another attendee called for government workers to provide better customer service.
“We talk about making things more robust online and stuff like that, but when I come into an office, when I call, you know, treat people how you would like to be treated,” the attendee advised.
Others called for better service from tourism workers as well. Friday included a panel discussion on the topic and a presentation by Bill Freeman, who founded the Freeman Group, which provides customer-service training.
“When you make your marketing budget, allocate some of that money to developing the people who have to deliver on the [marketing] promise, because without investment it just doesn’t happen organically,” he said. “I mean these people are not going to do anything different unless they are trained and coached how to do it differently.”
Culture
The final panel discussion addressed the inclusion of culture in the VI’s tourism sector.
Panelist Dr. Katherine Smith, the government’s director of culture, suggested adding more cultural displays at the seaports and airports.
“We can make [the information] specific to the islands when you get to the port,” she said. “What if there was a list of the important heritage sites there?”
Panelists also tied the integration of culture with education.
“I think historical culture is important, but it’s also equally important to recognise that culture evolves with us over time,” said panelist Thomas Warner, a VI realtor. “And for the youth to be interested in culture, we have to give them the modern version of what we’ve been doing historically for them to be really interested in it.”
A start
Several attendees emphasised the importance of following the consultations with action.
“Let’s not just discuss: Let’s make sound decisions,” Ms. Flax-Brutus said in her opening speech. “Let’s not just plan: Let’s take action.”
Others tried to stay optimistic in this regard.
“Although this is the first summit, it is not the first of its kind to have stakeholders in a room to have conversation and nothing has happened,” panelist Keisha Davis-Barnes told the Beacon at the end of the event. “I am praying that this yields something beneficial for the territory.”
A national tourism plan has been long awaited, with successive governments promising one at least since 2011. Mr. Wheatley said last January that a plan would be completed last year.
Other presenters
Other presenters at the summit last week included Dona Regis-Prosper, the secretary general of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation, and Julie Cuesta, the vice president of international marketing and communications at the United States-based Myriad Marketing.
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