Concerns raised over lifeguard shortage amid tourism boom
With more than three hundred cruise passengers reportedly visiting Smuggler’s Cove on Wednesday, February 18, concerns have emerged over the presence of only one lifeguard assigned to oversee the entire beach.
A BVI News team visited the location and observed that a single lifeguard was responsible for monitoring the hundreds of tourists transported there in busloads.
While the territory continues to experience a booming tourism season, concerns persist within the local community about visitor safety and the overall quality of the BVI’s tourism product.
Currently, Tortola’s beaches operate at full capacity with just two lifeguards—one stationed at Smuggler’s Cove and another at Josiah’s Bay.
During a recent sitting of the Fifth House of Assembly, Minister for Communication and Works Kye Rymer announced that the 2025 budget includes funding for additional lifeguards, with two new positions expected to be filled before the next tourist season.
“Vacancy notices for these new positions will be issued shortly to initiate the recruitment process and ensure a thorough and inclusive approach,” Rymer stated.
He further noted that fire officers and existing lifeguards have been working to identify qualified candidates, with a particular focus on recruitment from Tortola and Virgin Gorda.
Lifeguard training is set to begin in April 2025, and following a six-month training period, the government expects full lifeguard coverage across key beaches by November 2025.
Immediate safety concerns for current season
Despite these future plans, concerns remain for the current tourist season, given that only two lifeguards are presently on duty. This comes as Premier and Minister of Tourism Dr. Natalio Wheatley aims to double visitor arrivals, following a record-breaking one million visitors in 2024—the highest since 2016.
In October 2024, former BVI Tourist Board Director Sharon Flax-Brutus raised concerns about the absence of lifeguards on Virgin Gorda’s beaches, which remain a major tourist hotspot.
“We do not have any lifeguards on Virgin Gorda, at any of the beaches—not even during tourist season,” Flax-Brutus stated, emphasising the potential dangers for visitors, particularly under hazardous conditions.
With tourist numbers rising, residents and tourism stakeholders continue to call for immediate solutions to improve beach safety across the territory.
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Even in earlier times tourists were problematic at Smuggler’s Cove. In the days when Nell Denniston ran his “honour bar” he walked the beach picking up their litter, while muttering the words, “Have you ever seen a millionaire picking up garbage”.
Invest in the youths. train them to be lifeguards half the youths dont even know how to swim but the driving cars and scooters at 13. smoking and drinking and even s*xing but they cant swim to save their life
All that is lacking is political will. There is no good reason why people living in islands should not learn how to swim. It could save their lives. Some might even qualify to represent the Territory in the Olympics.
Virgin Gorda has for more than 20 years now what was a 90% completed 25 m pool and diving board (by Bregado Flax), paid for by private money. Ralph and Orlando declined to live to their word that the govt would complete the project if private monies paid for 90% of construction costs.
Of course, the other issue is how much BVI govt is willing to pay lifeguards. If nurses are anything to go by, wages on offer will be pitiful.
Money shortage but them aint telling aryo
Needs guards on cane garden. Whole lot more cruise sheep here.
Hundreds of tourists? How many rest rooms?
Perhaps our government could take some of that filthy lucre they glean from the cruise sheep with each port call and do a couple things:
A. Clean up after the ever-so-valuable cruise sheep tourists trash the beaches (especially the disgusting cigarette butts).
B. Construct some toilet facilities, and then maintain them and keep them clean (and build them for a reasonable price tag rather than the bids they accept for what appears to be paying for what must certainly be golden plumbing fixtures).
Maybe a dumb question but the road to Smugglers is private and is owned by the Belmont Association. Why don’t they just close it off to avoid accidents, drownings, garbage, liability, etc?
@Roger Burnett, Nell was the wife of Bob Denniston.
Thanks for the correction.
ALL THE NEW AGE POLITICIANS INTERESTED IN IS THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE VISITING OUR SHORES TO COLLECT THE TAX AND DO …..WHAT WITH IT!NOT A CARE FOR THE TOURIST SAEFTY. THEN DEM WANT TO GET VEX WITH FODOR’S FOR THEIR ARTICLE
How about restricting use of Smuggler’s to locals only. Keep the cruise ship people out and provide a place for Tortolans, local residents, year-round folks a place away from the mayhem?
Due to absolute, vcious and atrocious CLASSISM, cronyism, preferrential surnames and other discriminatory mental elements within society, governmental offices and directors of programs, the BVI has thrown away many opportunities at competing and actually bringing Olympic medals home.
For, prior to Guy Hill’s exploits on the track, i his brother was the unknown fastest and strongest swimmer, it is believed in the territory, and among those who knew that fact about me very well.
Today, just as yesterday, due to classist human bigotry, foresight and lack of community development programs still in the distant, and the programs to seek out and develop fledgeling noticable gifts and talents within the youth population are woefully wanting.
Everyone today, native, expat, dessenters and spies alike focus their comments on critising and oppressing the youths, postulating that their only interests are engaging in drugs business or use, motor bikes and other non intellectual habits.
But neither them nor their countries of origin would dare establish programs that will stare our youths into directions of personal productivity and development. And soon, they will be funding and building another Balsom Ghut facility to house more disenfranchised, not looked after and cast away youths.
Those kinds of narratives are then trans communicated through the media and into the psyche rendering them inept,intellectually disabled, uncaring and unmotivated to want to excel at anthing. A shameful lack of committment, foresight, money, training and facilitiesare stillthe norm.
Except for one or two cases, the general modus opernadi of this country’s people and government towards the youths is the same as seventy to eighty years ago.
It is a national shame that St.Lucia, a country often looked down upon because of its geographical position in the West Indies, compared to us, is now a full member on the Olympic gold community, while, with all our supposed money, more than St.Lucia, cannot even muster a bronze at any worth while sports event.
We must begin to do better at seeking out, developing and training talent from very young. If i had such as a youth, our Tola VI would be an Olympis gold country today, no doubt.
Shouutss, i used to literaly chase barricuas without fins or snorel gear.
You cant restrict access to the beach & they did good keeping it unpaved but these taxi men upgraded their shocks to offroad & offload.
“Local Use Only”, I beg to differ.
Beaches should be for the usage of all!
Why discriminate? And,are we not a tourist-friendly, democratic society?
Hmmm…
Putting those asides,lifeguards are a necessity, wherever large populations- residential or touristic, gather anywhere, along our shore
Now, I would like to see comparable starting
price points, at say, 28 grand annually,
..A great way to get many of our young people, and not so young ones, once again loving our shores, and actually making a living doing so