Tourist Board to develop hospitality rating system this year

The BVI Tourist Board (BVITB) will be developing a system to rate the level of hospitality in the British Virgin Islands.

Premier Andrew Fahie made that announcement on Friday while giving an update on tourism in the territory.

He said the hospitality rating system “will be one of the few in the region that will enable the BVI Tourist Board to monitor and assess the level of hospitality in the region and rectify issues quickly”.

The Premier said the BVITB’s Product Department is planning to roll out this system before the end of the year.

Another initiative to be rolled out before year’s end is a plan to reinstate the ‘BVI You’re Beautiful Campaign’. This campaign designed to focus on keeping the islands clean, Fahie said.

In the meantime, Premier Fahie also reported what he said is an increase in bookings and guests for the upcoming months.

He listed the following statistics:

June
• Boats – 157 bookings and 899 guests
• Land accommodation – 657 bookings and 1,392 guests

July
• Boats – 148 bookings and 843 guests
• Land accommodation – 610 bookings and 1,196 guests

August
• Boats – 33 bookings and 220 guests
• Land accommodation – 368 bookings and 596 guests

“These figures were captured before the reduction of the BVI Gateway fee and the revision of the quarantine protocols for fully and partially vaccinated travellers in mid-June, and before the opening of the ports on Sopher’s Hole, West End; Dog Hole, Jost Van Dyke, and St Thomas Bay, Virgin Gorda, as fully vaccinated ports of entry on 17th June, 2021,” Fahie stated.

“These adjustments, according to the feedback from the BVI Tourist Board, have created excitement among our Puerto Rican guests who love to come sailing in the BVI waters,” he added.