BVI News

BVI to increase accommodations | Premier promises 5K extra beds in five years

Visitors aboard a cruise ship docked in the BVI recently. (BVI News photo)

Government will be introducing a major tourism development plan that will see thousands of additional accommodations being made available for overnight visitors by 2024.

Premier Andrew Fahie made that announcement during his budget address this week.

“We wish to increase the room stock, first to pre-hurricane levels, and secondly to expand,” the Premier said. “Our goal is to have 5,000 beds within the next five years.”

Premier Fahie said his administration will achieve this target by offering “incentives” for hotel operators to reconstruct and/or expand their properties.

The premier, whose office has responsibility for tourism, said government will also be attracting local and international investors to construct new properties.

Premier Fahie further said government has plans to “improve the access to the territory by way of air and sea” and by investing more in marketing the territory’s tourism brand.

“We will begin the rebranding of our destination, and within the next five years, tourism shall once again be the underpinning and the lifeblood of this economy,” Fahie said.

He added that the development of tourism sub-sectors such as wellness tourism, sports tourism, and entertainment tourism will be encourgaed.

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30 Comments

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  1. Quiet Warrior says:

    Tourism is one-half of the economic twin pillars and the employment workhorse. And, undoubtedly, need to be strengthened, extended and deepened. The number of beds and heads must be increased; put more heads in beds. A greater focus is needed on stay over/over night guests. In addition to increasing the number of heads and beds, the infrastructure needs to be modernized, tourist attractions need to be enhanced and increased, environmental resources protected, service improved, service providers education/training enhanced ………etc.

    The Premier said, “Premier Fahie said his administration will achieve this target by offering “incentives” for hotel operators to reconstruct and/or expand their properties.” However, the incentives need to be performance based and phased, ie, the number beds increased to get taxpayers funding…..etc. Local persons with chalets, villas, cottages …..etc also needs to be incentivized but based on performance. The $7.2M of taxpayers dollars squandered on BVI Airways, a defunct and broke airline, should have been performance-based. Front loading the cash resulted in taxpayers being “jacked.” Taxpayers need a full accounting of the $7.2M; the election didn’t erase the need for the accounting.

    Like 18
  2. Tourist, Westminster MD says:

    My Family and I travel to the BVI at least twice per year. We would love to see more Bed & Breakfast style accomadations.

    Like 33
    Dislike 1
    • Good Idea says:

      I also prefer to stay in a nice B&B When I travel. A lot of travelers like myself, is not into the beach scene, and would prefer the quiet homey surroundings of a B&B.

      Like 5
      Dislike 1
  3. Anonymous says:

    Good intention what about the person that needs to rent here. Will you have rent control or whatever figure goes?

    Like 14
    Dislike 6
  4. Anonymous says:

    What hotels are going to expand. The one star accommodations that presently exist. Cmon enough nonscense.

    Like 7
    Dislike 5
  5. hm says:

    1000/yr? not thought out

    Like 4
    Dislike 3
  6. Anonymous says:

    5000 beds in five years will be welcomed, but at what cost? Another sixty plus years of inferior wages and high profits?

    The cost of sixty plus years of slave wages high profits, high cost of living is still in evidence today in the form of a minimum slave wages high yielding profits Just 150 years removed from slavery, but the same concept is still in place.

    AND, OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS REMAIN COWARDS, POOR NEGOTIATORS, SELLOUTS AND BECOME CORRUPT RENDERING THEM INCAPABLE OF MAKING THE NECESSARY CHANGES TO BENEFIT THE MASSES..

    Thus, this is the legacy, though it/they accomplish some good, of former VIP governments.

    Indeed, they gave away too much [land, human and labour resources] for the sake of having a few low paying slave waging jobs, while the top paying jobs went to European expats along with the huge profits.

    As a result, today we are still suffering from that model and legacy of low wage high yield industry, while hoping to turn a stone into a golden nugget.

    It is hoped, therefore, that the new VIP has a broad and developed world view with regards to fair labour and compensation practices.

    Because, we must no longer be subjected to the exploitative practices of the past to present. We have we suffered and are still suffering from the legacy of nationals out negotiating us and taking our resources and we get poo in return..

    Let’s demand fairness and more equality of our piece of the pie.

    We are no better off today, individually or collectively, than we were in 1959. We now own less than 1/4 of our original lands and do not have or control any significant wealth in comparison to the now value of land we have lost.

    Finally, we have no wealth generating base from which to pass on to the next generation.

    These are the kinds of concepts and realities an onward-forward-sighted government should be studying and developing.

    Instead, more slavery mechanisms and institutions for the rich to get richer at the expense of the poor seem to be as far as the brain can fathom right now…

    Like 10
    Dislike 5
  7. Con says:

    And when the NDP was speaking of this these were the arsenine buckets saying “the investors are coming”. I don’t know if you notice but vip has no real plans of their own and it was evident from their campaign. Their plan was to bad mouth and distort as much as possible what the previous government was doing, get in office and execute the same previous government plans for their own benefit. Their plan succeeded. I pray our people wake up and see these con artists for who they really are.

    Like 14
    Dislike 2
  8. CW says:

    1000 a year is easy when you count everything together. The rebuilding of resorts like BEYC, little Dix etc, along with dozens of villas with 6 to 10 rooms each and that’s just pre storm levels, to say nothing of trying to get new investment.

    As far as renters- great question. In theory more rooms is more jobs which should help renters pockets and also give incentive to landlords to create new housing. That in turn drives rent down as supply increases. In theory. The storms destroyed so much housing.

    Give this government a chance to do the work!!

    Like 3
    Dislike 3
  9. Wait wait says:

    What?? LMAO

  10. Michael says:

    I for one will never return after being blocked in a parking space with no remorse from the idiot who blocked me. Doesn’t tell me much about the courtesy the island extends. And “what” tourist attractions? Other then CGB , the dolphin place and the Baths what is there??

    Like 7
    Dislike 1
    • I agree, Tourist says:

      When I visit, I go to CGB or the Baths. There is nothing else to do. CGB have a Sea Side broadwalk type of laid back vibe meaning a good thing.

      Like 5
      Dislike 1
  11. Shark says:

    what about prospect reef resort

  12. Tortola Iceman says:

    Its been quite a while since I left Tortola to seek my fortune in the states. So much for young mens dreams. As I look at what has happened both pre and post IRMA I can’t help think that a terrible loss is going to occur on the most beautiful place on earth and to the great people of the bvi.
    I lived here from 1962 to 1975 starting at smugglers and ending up running the ice plant at pasa. Those were wonderful times but what is being proposed for expansion will end up some day destroying a way of life that is hard to beat. Wall to wall cars, people ect will eventually change everything, leaving a paradise where greed, avarice and fear will rule the day.
    Take care and good luck.

  13. Realistically speaking says:

    Now now, is this realistic thinking? Eager to hear what the “incentives” would look like and what qualifies a local or expatriate hotelier for any taxpayers’ incentive. Would the qualifications be the same for locals as expatriates ( I hope not). In the name of transparency we need details. By the way, do we currently have a shortage of beds?

  14. ms says:

    Toursism can come but the bvi has to seriously work on the violence in the BVI or Tourism is a dream with out Combating the BIG _ BIG problem with CRIME and VIOLENCE – WIPE OUT OF THE BVI then you can call the BVI it’s TRUE NAME – PARADISE ISLANDS OF THE BVI.

    Like 2
    Dislike 1
  15. Musa says:

    Great ,let start with prospect reef

  16. E scott says:

    The offerings in BVI are poor for anybody taking a weeks on island vacation and attitude of stoned locals is not an attraction, food offering needs to be improved to reflect local produce and culture. I don’t think the majority of belongers have their heart on changes so the idea will fall flat. It needs to happen soon because the second piller , the financial services, will be reducing rapidly over the next few years and it will be too late when the economy has shrunk to build on torisum when there is no money left and will make people just bitch more and become more isolated and anti outsiders. Act now to change attitudes before it’s too late

    Like 8
    Dislike 1
    • Part Timer says:

      Thank You E.Scott for that to the point comment. I also want to say that the BVI needs to up the anti put things in place to attract Tourist. The BVI need to have something else to offer, not just the Beach Scene. I would love to see a helicopter charter service set up to take Tourist on scenic rides of the Island/Sister Islands. I bet that would be a huge hit.

  17. Soiled Son says:

    :)) so if those are queen size beds they are looking to add 10,000 person capacity? um okay, that shouldn’t put a strain on the infrastructure

    • S Scott says:

      Infastructure ,! There isn’t ant lol but the big buck spending Toursism industry insists on it so the big companies who come here to build resorts build the road, the drainage , the reliable power supply . It’s a win win

  18. Hmmm says:

    What number rebrand was this? The problem is… there is no consenus on what the destination is! Some want mass of the ships others a high end boutique experience. This is being challenged as cruise tourism is having a negitive impact on the experiences of longer stay visitors. thats a fact!

  19. Natura says:

    Good plan but

  20. Natura says:

    Please proceed with caution.
    Those tourists come here primarily because of our Nature.
    If we need to expand our tourism capacity, which we do, then we have to be extremely careful to do it WITHOUT destroying the remaining wild places we have.
    Unplanned and over development of these islands will kill tourism dead.

  21. Anonymous says:

    Cruise tourism is a killer for the BVIs. Most of Us willing to spend the Money to be In The BVIs see the lack of cruise ships as a major reason to spend time here in the first place . Also the cruise ship visitors trash the islands. Just look at Top of the baths after they leave . Destroyed every time

  22. Dreaming says:

    5000 rooms that will go empty. Hotel rates haven’t changed much in 25 years. So-called 5star hotels here are just ridiculously priced. Scrub Island over the top. CaneGarden Marriott dreaming on their rates too.

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