Travelling to Seatrade helps us sell our cruise product
Communications and Works Minister Kye Rymer has defended the delegation that is currently in Florida representing the BVI at Seatrade Cruise Global 2024, saying they are getting the chance to sell the territory’s cruise tourism product and have important conversations with cruise stakeholders.
Amid the numerous infrastructural and social problems in the community, the public has taken issue with the international trips government members have been taking in recent times, as they believe those funds should be spent on the problems in the community.
But Minister Rymer said the territory is competing with many different destinations and must have a physical presence at conferences like Seatrade in order to grow the cruise industry.
“If we want to enhance our cruise tourism, we have to be among the players and have the discussions,” Rymer explained from the floors of the Seatrade conference.
The government recently announced a historic rise of more than 90,000 cruise passengers in the first quarter of 2024. Rymer said the aim is to convert these cruise passengers to overnight guests so the community can get more value. He added that the government is exploring how it can meet the needs of luxury cruise lines that spend more than a night in the BVI.
For instance, Rymer said the cruise lines are asking the government for shore power, which would allow them to get electrical power from the BVI once they berth while they shut down their engines. Rymer said this is a measure the government is interested in as it would help to reduce emissions from the ships and aid the BVI to reduce its own carbon footprint.
The BVI delegation to the Seatrade conference includes members of the BVI Ports Authority, local shipping agencies and the Tourist Board.
The government has set aside more than $2 million in the 2024 budget for travel expenses, but it’s unclear whether the public purse will cover the travel costs for all members of the Seatrade delegation.
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What tourism product? I also don’t trust you to represent us abroad. I like you as a person but the truth is you have been doing a horrible job as minister for works. Everything under you is a failure. The roads, water, the market, your big embarrassment and waste of public money you call an economic zone. The road by the governor’s house that has to be taken up hundreds of thousands of dollars later because of poor planning. Walking around and smiling, taking out yes and going on trips is not what leadership is about.
Noooooo…not the well loved GQ Minister…
but are talking about our beautiful potholes & daily scented fragrance from the running sewer water on the streets ? Some Caribbean has water falls , we are going to have to develop our own
It is obviously also very important that the delegation travel to and from Miami in first class, and that they stay at an expensive hotel whilst in Miami.
Of course they travel to Miami in first class and stayed at an expensive hotel and hit the malls. This was a paid mini vacation on the taxpayers expense.
They flew first class and stayed in a luxury hotel. And but, of course they hit up the malls. Was this a charted flight as well? Wellllll, the Premier started it. I don’t understand why a Travel Office is not set up to monitor travel expenses and accommodations when Politicians travel. Politicians don’t have to fly first class, they can fly business class.
You talk about the cruise ships asking that the BVI Ports to provide electricity for the ships? Brother, your generating plant is already maxed out on supply to the people. How is it that you can possibly consider such a promise without significant infrastructure expense? Not only will you need additional capacity at the plant, but you would also require the accompanying distribution network that would have to be run to the cruise ship dock.
You can hardly supply the electricity for the water plant at Paraquita as it is, now you are talking about supplying cruise ships?
C’mon man!
Who is making the big bucks from cruise arrivals. Have them go to Seatrade and pay for any Gov Ministers they want there. Why the public paying for helping enrich the already rich? We dont want more cruise ships.
To damage their backs dropping in potholes? Where the current and water going off every minute? To smell sewage and open burning of garbage? To swim in filthy water? So that the bushes haul them out of the buses? TELL ME!
Bahamas don’t go but still get more cruiseships than most destinations. You spend half a million to go to one show for the section of tourism that gives us the very least in revenue? Meanwhile the day charters catching hell. The derelict boats from Irma still out there. No new hotels. Airport can’t develop. Airlift still a challenge. Anegada and VG airports not being maximized. But we talking about cruiseships? 23 people gone on taxpayers dime for what? Those meetings couldn’t be done here or via zoom? The Cruiseship companies will meet with 30 other locations back to back so isn’t like BVI having special meetings. Same exact meeting they have with every country every single year. Waste of time and money.
Yeah u are selling products when kind the bricks with the white products inside?
Did anyone visit Hon Mountain Dew while up there??
Stop EMBARRASSING YOURSELVES AND THE TERRITORY. How can someone sit in a room FULL OF PROFESSIONALS AND INVITE CRUISERS TO COME TO A PLACE WHERE RAW SEWAGE BUBBLING IN THE STREETS AND DEPLORABLE ROADS THAT IS CRUMBLING DAY BY DAY. DONT FORGET THE OVERSIZED/OVERGROWN BUSHES THAT IS DAMN NEAR SUCKING US OUT OF OUR VEHICLES. CLEAN UP THE ISLAND BEFORE YOU INVITE GUEST TO VISIT.
What the hell cruise products we are selling/got to sell to the cruise ships PASSANGERS? Unless you are talking about A MASON JAR FILLED WITH RAW SEWAGE, BROKEN PIECES OF THE DEPLORABLE ROADS AND OVERGROWN BUSHES BLOCKING THE VIEWS OF THE ISLAND?
Please try to fix our boating product. Why is it so difficult for large/mega yachts to register and fly the BVI flag?
Why did the Moorings take a sizable number of their boats over to the USVI?
There is money to be made and jobs to be had in the cruise industry yes but we need a diverse economy to be able to support industry, people who are willing to risk capital to provide jobs and people who want to work.
Why can our port in the middle of town look like Monaco which boardwalks and moorings for large yachts.
If you want to increase overnight guests… Expand the Runway. Hoteliers won’t spend money on expanding rooms or even modernizing them if the inflow of guests cant be anticipated with some relative certainty.
We need more. More from our leaders, more from the people who go on trips, more from our Government. We should expect and demand better for our Virgin Islands.
Do you even know what the BVI’s tourism product is? If you are believing it’s our beautiful beaches, then you first need to ensure that the beaches are protected from the barrage of vendors that’s destroying them and ensure there are lifeguards on the beaches to help prevent drownings! Just this weekend another of our visitors lost their life on our beach. What are you doing to protect these people you are encouraging to visit these islands?!! Or do you not care what happens to them after they arrive?