Tourism challenges land BVI on Fodor’s 2025 ‘No List’
The BVI has been included in ‘Fodor’s No List 2025’, a publication highlighting destinations facing significant challenges due to tourism pressures.
The annual list aims to draw attention to popular locations struggling with the impacts of their own success, urging travellers to consider the well-being of local communities and environments.
Tourism is a cornerstone of the BVI’s economy, alongside financial services. However, the publication pointed out that the current emphasis on cruise tourism has raised concerns among residents and stakeholders. In the first half of 2024, the territory experienced a record influx of over 683,000 visitors, marking a 17% increase compared to the same period in 2023.
Notably, cruise ship passengers accounted for approximately 72% of these arrivals. In contrast, overnight visitor numbers remain nearly 24% below their 2017 peak of 243,000. This shift has led to apprehensions about the economic benefits of cruise tourism, as cruise passengers typically spend less locally than overnight guests.
Allington “Gumption” Creque, owner of Sea It Clear Tours, observed that large groups of cruise passengers often overwhelm local resources and contribute minimally to the local economy during their brief visits. Similarly, opposition legislator Myron Walwyn has argued that the expected economic trickle-down effect from cruise tourism to local businesses, such as restaurants and car rental agencies, is lacking.
Infrastructure limitations
According to the magazine, infrastructure limitations further compound these issues. Communications and Works Minister Kye Rymer acknowledged that the BVI’s current infrastructure cannot support mass tourism. Former BVI Tourist Board Director Sharon Flax-Brutus emphasised the need for comprehensive planning, stating that the territory often overlooks potential drawbacks in its tourism strategies. She highlighted ongoing challenges in tourism planning and preparation, particularly as visitor numbers are expected to rise in the current season.
The publication also pointed to pressing environmental concerns. The BVI’s coral reefs, already vulnerable due to climate change, face additional threats from unregulated anchoring, coastal development, and the use of non-reef-safe sunscreens. While an environmental levy of $10 per tourist has been implemented to fund conservation efforts, the allocation of these funds has been delayed for years by political challenges.
Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley recently announced the procurement of a $100 million loan aimed mainly at infrastructure upgrades. However, this amount falls significantly short of the initially projected $700 million needed for comprehensive improvements.
The inclusion of the BVI in Fodor’s ‘No List’ serves as a call to action for both policymakers and travellers. It underscores the necessity for sustainable tourism practices that balance economic benefits with the preservation of the environment and the well-being of local communities.
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Finally a slim ray of hope for our sorely stressed islands.
Place looks like it is the Caribbean’s Dumpsite. Beaches about to be turned into Commercial operations. Roads impassable. Ferries still unocoordinated. And all our leaders can think to do is overload the island more by building a bigger aiport that no one wants and no one needs except those expecting to line their pockets.
Meantime we loose out tourist trade and Financial services soon to disappear when BVI can no longer hide crooks and money launderers once there are open regisiters.
At last!
The writing has been on the wall since the mid 1980’s. There is no way that this small island can accommodate that overwhelming invasion of daily trippers.
But alas, the damage done to the island’s image and infrastructure is already beyond recall. All for the sake of the cruise ship dollar.
Good thing someone’s finally noticed, alas a bit too late. He who does not listen does feel.
All correct. And they didn’t even mention the biggest problem: cruise shippers deter land- and sea-based visitors from coming. Who wants to visit Tortola when it is overrun by 15,000 people in a single day? Overnight visitors can’t enjoy the Baths; the same thing is happening to Spring Bay.
It is well past time to introduce quotas for cruise ships. No ship over 3,000 passengers; no more than 4,000 cruise ship passengers on a single day.
I used to spend a month in the BVI every year. I stayed in a hotel, shopped in stores and ate in restaurants. The cruise ship crowds drove me away. They ruined Cane Garden Bay and now they’ve ruined Long Bay (Beef Island). Tragic.
The VIP needs vision. You all voted in a set of children and now its effects are showing. You people are jokers.
@Hmm
Alas, a common flaw amongst the political class – Myopia! Vision, especially foresight, that rarely is clear beyond the end of the nose.
Before the construction of of the cruise ship pier there was one cruise ship that docked at Port Purcell every 2 weeks on Sunday from November to April. That was fine then and is all the BVI needs now. So just limit each cruise ship to one BVI visit per year staggered to a one ship visit every 2 weeks during the winter season.
Cunard Countess and Cunard Princess, minnows by today’s cruise ships. Im afraid the cat has been let out of the bag and we could never go back to those days. The economy would collapse and there would be riots in the streets.
BVI been treated like a cheap wh**r for the cruise ship head tax that is like crack for the government. Chair renters, beach bars only ones making out and the turf wars between them is a national embarrassment. Hotels empty except for 1-2 months a year. Many places looking at long term rental for the future.
Wouldn’t be a bad idea to start charging duty on the food brought in by bareboat guests, who are pretty much just a small step above cruise ships, although they’ll tell you how they support the economy. Go look at all the lights on boats at anchor and how empty the restaurants are.
BVI becoming an alcohol based tourism economy. Come, get drunk, make mess, leave. What was once Natures Little Secrets is turning into the Natures Trailer Park.
Now, shall we talk about failing infrastructure?
@Seen it coming
Spot on! If I could give two thumbs-up to your comments I would.
You can’t compare the cruise ship with the boating tourism. Miles apart! The bareboaters and crewed yachts spend thousands off dollars on food and drinks every charter and not to mention all the contractors put to work to do work on all the yachts. Restaurants out on the islands are busy. But completely agree regarding cruise ship passengers and BVI not having the infrastructure to manage the load
As a bareboat owner I don’t think you have all the facts. First any food I bring into the BVI I pay a duty on. Paid a duty on 15 Nov that was 20%! I do however purchase items that are available locally on Tortola. The bill to provision my boat with 8 people is typically over 1000.00 for 7 days.
The restaurant situation also does not seem to match what you state. The biggest problem we have is getting a reservation. Turned down at Cooper Island, Marina Key and Cocoa Maya just last week. A place that provides good service and descent food will be packed. Tipsy Shark on Jost is a good example. Ate there last week and spent 300 for 4 people. Very nice meal and worth every penny. Spent the same at another place on Tortola and won’t be back. Poor food and service!
As a bareboater, I can tell you we leave $20,000 a week in the BVI, provisioning at the grocery stores, eating at the restaurants, getting taxis, and on and on. We are respectful and thankful.
makes for sobering reading and is accurate:
https://www.fodors.com/news/news/fodors-no-list-2025
The chickens are coming home to roost.
To put it Bluntly, Virgin Islands News is no longer Domestic. It is International and everybody is listening and hearing about how terrible our Pig Pen is. There is Too Talking and No action to remedy this situation among others. Our Major properties have always done their own Marketing. I do believe when our Tourist Board Employees try to sell our Destination they are often met with the gruesome statements or Questions concerning the state of our Infrastructure and the Conversation takes a different twist. How can you sell a Destination with an Infrastructure like the Virgin Islands and expect people to be interested in Coming? While the Virgin Islands have a lot of Friends who have been coming for years, they are aware of our many challenges and not just our Infrastructure. It is a crying Shame as a lil 2 X 4 territory once dubbed the envy of the Caribbean to become a S#ithole Territory with no more Bragging rights. The Sad reality is when someone thinks they are doing such a great Job, they block their Ears from listening to others who may very well have great ideas to add to theirs. This is a wake up call for this Administration to seek out and use the Resources that are readily available within this Territory and get us back on Track to resurrect our Tourism product that everyone Boast about. Put your Money where your Mouth is. Clean up the Territory, Fix our Infrastructure, Train your Staff, Encourage new Investors to come and Build Hotels which will create more Jobs and bring back the good ole days of infamous Tourism in the Virgin islands. While we are drifting backwards every other Caribbean Islands are capitalizing on our weakness including our Neighbours in the USVI.
At citizen…Love this s**t hole ….take it or leave it.
You talking cow dung. Its this attitude make it a sh*8hole.
How about all of we also from here, also love our homeland and are disgusted by how it has fallen? You think you the only BVIslander with an opinion/ You think all BVIslanders share your mumu opinion?
Many of us are ashamed. Ashamed that we have fallen into this more more more $$$ trap. Ashamed that we have killed our beautiful nature. ashamed that we have raised our youth to expect fast cars and fast boats and guns and no education because that’s the fast way to get ahead. You do not represent me. And you do not get to tell me love it or leave.
We got to try harder. To be intelligent. To be wise. Not to be arrogant and just glad we inherit a piece of land and don’t got to do what most people in the world and all Caribbean ancestors did, which is work to the bone.
Do better.
We are down from a peak of 3 visits a year to just one in the summer when there are fewer cruise ships. So that’s lots of $$$$$ that no longer comes to the BVI.
says the article, citing ‘all governments’ since 2011.
We don’t plan or invest in our infrastructure, education or future. The VI a free for all. It’s been that way for a long time and it’s our own fault for being too cowardly to stand up for a strong future by voting for the same names over and over out of fear of reprisal.
Maybe that’s just the way of the 21st century…
All the comments are just negative comments, why not offer suggestions, so we can take to BVI Tourist Board and the
Government of the Virgin Islands
Because they have been told what the problems are and have chosen to ignore them for years.
Read above: introduce a quota on cruise ships: no ship bigger than 3,000 people; no more than 4,000 cruise ship visitors in the BVI in one day.
I couldn’t have said it any better, this is the best post yet! This is not the time for blame game, it’s the time for ACTION. Time to clean up the place not just for tourists, but for US as well and because it is the RIGHT THING TO DO! The BVI can cater to all types of guests if it’s managed correctly. We are unique in the sense of having mulitiple islands that each offer it’s own vibe and experience. It’s amazing to see the downward spiral of the BVI over the last 15-20yrs especially when compared to the likes of St. Kitts, Grenada, St. Vincent etc. which we considered to be ‘less than’ back in the days….
“The BVI can cater to all types of guests if it’s managed correctly.” This is exactly correct; both Citizen and @Citizen nailed it. There’s no plan for tourism, other than incoherently lurching from one bright shiny object to the next, with the proposed Beef Island Airport expansion being Exhibit A.
The post about hotels being full only 1 or 2 months per year, if accurate, further illustrates the folly of expanding the airport-although the government will say that ‘if we build it, they will come’ even though there’s no evidence of that (meaning that there’s evidence of any unmet demand).
We live-aboard our 50’ sailing yacht and have been cruising the Eastern Caribbean for 3.5yrs. Combined, we’ve spent about 12 months in the BVI, sometimes several months at a time. We’ve spent many months in Nanny Cay Marina’s boatyard, having maintenance done by local contractors.
Sadly, the number of folks in the BVI that treat us like we’re a Walking ATM machine are greater than the number of folks genuinely welcoming and wanting to help and charge a fair rate for services.
No matter where we sail, we spend $2,000/month on personal food/drink/fuel/water, and far more when doing maintenance on the boat or visiting restaurants. Our cruising budget is $3,500/mth.
We have no plans to visit the BVI again, because other islands are far more welcoming and appreciative of what we can bring to the table, and of our limitations.
The many fantastic people and businesses of the BVI are being hurt by the attitude and actions of those who, it seems, don’t value the international consumer.
Nanny Cay take note.
Ladies and Gentlemen, put your hands together and give a round-of-applause to the PVIM who gave us VIP 2019, Unity 2022 and VIP 2023. Thanks PVIM, THANKS!!!!
Let’s ask the Head Coach and Mrs. Maynard if any lessons were learnt about going up to Miami and sucking up to the cruise lines
isn’t shocking that most commenters on these blogs got more sense than elected officials? chasing cruise ship numbers is a dead end road.
It is only a certain typ eof person that 9s complaining to this and the islands and people do not even belong to them.
The same type as the tourists! Take heed!
Most of the people tourist come in contact with are not from the BVI. Some are here for money and talk bad about BVI people. Trust they will do it to you too.
Can’t wait to hear what the Nat has to say about this
Where there is no vision! Premier, Chairwoman and Director of Tourist Baord have no vision period and definitely not for tourism. Just simply doing the same old stuff they met and going to the same old tourism shows and have the same old agencies as their predecessors. Shortsighted cronies of the government. Rather keep the yes man and woman in place instead of calling for bold leadership and vision. What they doing with the $10 tourism tax? Anybody see that ridiculous building down Trellis Bay that can’t even serve our needs of yesterday? All kind of politics in place to give the contracts to who they want and we wait years for this building. But watch it and it’s like yuck! Who designed that? How long Prospect will stay an eyesore? At least turn it into a park or something until you ready for the investor to rape us. Got a whole Prospect board collecting money every month for nothing. Any word on the Last Resort? What about Mr Hung development? Anegada airport can’t enhance? VG airport isn’t due for development? Isn’t time for a public-private ferry operation to make sure we have ferries every hour between here and the USVI? What new markets are we targeting? Or just America and UK and Rico? Do we know our target market? Oh yeah!!!! Concert goers according the Minister of Tourism! Smdh! We are lost and making plans for the past not the future.
I think we should heard the ministers onto a cruise ship cattle bus and drive them around the island and give them the tourist tour. Then they can experience the BVI for themselves.
Get a Tourist to drive then around the island without the local knowledge of there the pot holes are.
Put then in a house without running water and not power because it rained.
Flood their offices 4 times a year when town is flooded.
Close the health care facility when they are in need to urgent treatment.
The UK will only take over if there is civil unrest when people are angry and the state of the country. We the people can only do so much. Lorna is asking us to tidy up the country.
Why are you not fixing everything lorna. You distanced yourself from the mess and this was a wise decision.
The people should have a vote of no confidence as its clear that no one has a plan to fix this place. Its a patchwork.
I drove around VG this weekend and the roads are fantastic. Tortola is shocking.
The teachers report i’m sure says “could do better”
now we have Lobsterfest coming up at the end of the month and its all local peple that come to it on the Sunday from Tola, less than 5% tourists visit the event and yet the budget for advertising Anegada is more than 75% focused on it, the tourist board is a joke and so are the government ministers that let cruise ship passengers arrive without an enviromental tax of $10 so they get their $7 tax pmsl.
Get rid of most of the cruise ship traffic and the overnight guests will return and flourish, but wait what will the Romany family do???
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/travel/news/the-best-cruise-ports-in-the-caribbean-and-how-to-make-the-most-of-them/ar-AA1uiT3h?ocid=msedgntp&pc=LCTS&cvid=e8f0150ecc7943f68fba56d768b01a5f&ei=13
You know what I find so interesting? This same publication,WILL NEVVAAAA,say such findings, about the US Virgin Islands, where I live!
Because, this is an American port, heavily, if not solely, dependent, on tourist dollars, and massively so, by cruise tourism!
But, they will find, all sorts of “neggies”, to say, about this territory!
Lemmie make it clear: This country needs cruise tourism..
And if you are unsure about such statistics, think back to the storms of 2017, when no passengers arrived on these shores, for many months..
Think back to the hardships, many families, and businesses, faced!
Again, not one entity, can determine, who, is a spending tourist..As a matter of fact, cruise tourists, usually lead to longterm overnighters!
Let us not study the fodder, and throw out the baby, with the bath water!
Cruise passengers’ only “contribution” to the Virgin Islands is when they use the toilet.
Is there a plan to dig up the entire road system and put electric water internet sewage and drainage under the roads. This is project one. Drainage is key to maintaining the roads.
Within this project the sidewalks and barriers will be installed correctly. A well designed project will take into consideration the maintenance of the vegetation where machinery can be driven along the edge of the roads for Speedys and regular maintenance. The current plan where we cut before the tourists arrive only on the roads the tourists roads clearly shows the last of respect for the tax payers. Take a trip to brewers bay and see the overgrown roads. Last year a tourist was impaled on a branch as a cruse ship passenger traveled on a safari bus. The toilets at brewers bay are never open vines growing up the gate. The new building at trellis for Speedys ferry needs to accommodate 150 people if raining planning to cater for a full ferry no in the design plans.
A plane with 150 people is cancelled where are they going to stay.
A cruise ship pulled out of the BVI last year doe to the negative thoughts of the surveys the passengers were leaving.
The list is endless of what needs fixing. The government complex has not been used since Irma 7 years ago. I quite sure we could have knocked it down and rebuilt in two years. DDM building being rebuilt has is still not finished 7 years. There is zero work happening there currently. The list goes on and on and on and on and on.
Fodors is an out of date , never updated , Bible of lies and untruths that no one looks at.
Trip advisor, google, booking.com and Expedia count.
Please fire the tattoo * that collect environment tax at airport.She has a stink attitude and should not be front of house.