BVI News

We don’t need to pay others to market BVI, use local scholarship recipients — Scatliffe

Scatliffe

Tourism stakeholder and Progressive Virgin Islands Movement (PVIM) candidate for District Four, Karl Scatliffe, believes there is a more effective way of promoting the British Virgin Islands than the strategies currently being used.

With a number of local students benefitting from government scholarships to study abroad, Scatliffe is proposing to utilise these recipients to actively market the territory.

“We have students away on national scholarships studying all over the world. We can create an incentive programme where students can be given fliers and marketing materials to share on their campuses and through social media,” Scatliffe said.

He noted that direct focus could be placed on sports tourism, which he described as the fastest growing area in the travel industry.

“It is great for any economy for one simple reason – it generates economic impact through direct spending into the community,” he said. “We have the perfect marketing machine to do it.”

Scatliffe, who was speaking at his official campaign launch in Road Town on Saturday night, added: “Let our children spread the news. Use those people to market. Word of mouth is the fastest way to go and you have social media so it is even faster.”

He said this strategy will no longer require the BVI to pay extravagant costs to tourism consultants who are often brought to the territory to offer their services in the sector.

Other plans

Scatliffe said some of his other plans to improve the tourism product includes hiring staff who are fluent in German, Spanish, French and Creole to be able to communicate to visitors.

“That’s the type of guests we have coming into our shores right now,” he argued.

In the meantime, Scatliffe said a PVIM government would complete the much-talked-about boardwalk from the Tortola Cruise Pier to the Queen Elizabeth II park.

He also said a PVIM government would rebuild the walls around the AO Shirley Recreational Grounds in Road Town and paint them with murals of stalwarts who have contributed to the local sporting industry.

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24 Comments

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Well, on it initial face it seems plausible, but with deeper analysis, it is frankly quite limited given the nature , width and scope of the industry.

    Perhaps, it could be implemented as an additional complement to the current strategies?

    Like 14
    Dislike 1
    • HRMPH says:

      The problems with this suggestion are too many to list, but for starters:
      1 – on the whole students, to whom the flyers are to be distributed by our students, are not high end tourists and have very limited budgets.
      2 – the idea that the BVI is a sports tourism hot spot is as big a fiction as the idea that we can develop a sustainable farming or fishing industry.

      Like 15
      • Howdy doody says:

        Unfortunately this sort of rank amateur promise gets reported as a serious suggestion.

      • Farmer says:

        Sports tourism….maybe you are right. Sustainable fishing and farming ….hmmm… prepare to eat your words. We will be eating local produce..more and more of it.

  2. E.Leonardo says:

    Did he really mention that he wants to build another wall? Fool me once!

    Whatcha mean you want to have our scholarship students travel Oversea with suitcase full of brochures. You want dem to stand on the

    Like 4
    Dislike 9
    • Anonymous says:

      So the grounds should be left open without walls? Lol ok

      Like 3
      Dislike 1
      • Curley says:

        This sounds like a Three Stooges solution. Maybe he is planning on dividing his wall project into 1,000 different pieces. He can then hire 1,000 contractors and pay them each $100,000. Don’t worry this will only cost us $100million!

        But wait the real problem will be the traffic because 1000 different contractors will be converging on the same site at the same time. Lmao…

        Like 2
        Dislike 2
  3. SMH says:

    Yep, use scholarship recipients who are in the learning stage to market the Territory, while our competitors use experienced and qualified entities to do theirs. I would really like to know who is advising these guys! The Territory is at a crossroads and we are here pandering to the people as if they’re stupid.

    Like 29
    Dislike 2
  4. Lolz says:

    Is this fool aware that scholarship kids already market the VI when they are out? From the time we open our mouths people can hear we’re foreign and they say, “Where are you from?” And from there the conversation continues. In addition to that schools usually have some sort of cultural night or international night where foreign students can do presentations on their homeland. That’s marketing as well. On my first day at university my Maths professor told me she loved VI students because they’re so studious and she’s taught a few. On another occasion I ran into a girl who started telling me how she loves visiting the VI and her dad was friends with the owner of the Jolly Roger. She knew where I was from by my accent, she’s been here so many times.

    Like 14
  5. TurtleDove says:

    Sometimes you can’t venture out of your lane…This is one of those times. I agree with you Anonymous….

    Like 7
    Dislike 1
  6. Belligerent says:

    This is a Machiavelic idea. Please common brother find some better to talk about.

  7. Belligerent says:

    This is a Machiavelic idea. Please common brother find something significant to talk about.

  8. Lol says:

    Wa he talking bout I heard miss p said already.. think we just found their advior

  9. VI gyal says:

    so I guess you do not agree with RDA fence instead.

  10. Half of the picture says:

    These comments are clearly based on not hearing his entire presentation.

    Like 1
    Dislike 1
  11. E. Leonard says:

    Tourism is one-half of the BVI economic twin pillars (financial services the other half) and it is a competitive business. Other regional competitors also aggressively market sand, sea and sun. The BVI must look at ways to differentiate itself; it needs to look at niches and not just mass tourism.

    Broadcasting/marketing the territory’s appeal as a top small destination must be an all out and nonstop effort. It must aim to stay ahead of the competition. In regards to marketing the tourism product, word of help but its reach is limited. Similarly, students on scholarships abroad studing, eg, hospitality management can help in marketing the product but it too is limited in its reach.

    As such, as other regional competitors do, the BVI must hire skilled, proven, experienced…….etc agencies to market its tourism product to selective, targeted markets, ie, US, Canada, South America, Europe, China…..etc.

    Mass tourism, though the most popular form of tourism, has a down side. Mass tourism can stress resources, infrastructure…….etc impacting the value of attractions, experience in the area, diminishing locals use and enjoyment of attractions, turning off some visitors……..etc.

    Like 12
    • E. Leonard says:

      Continuing……: Agree with Mr. Scatliffe that tourism consultants should be paid a fair and reasonable fee for their services.

      Further, there must be a more aggressive push to attract stay over visitors; stay over visitors stay longer and spend more on average per day than cruise passengers (not a dis on cruise passengers; cruise passengers are needed but just need more stay over visitors), creating a higher multiplier effect in the economy.

      However, to improve and expand the tourism product, more beds, tourist facilities, attractions and a world class infrastructure systems (water, sewage, electricity, roads, ports, telecommunications, gas, ferry service, drainage), entertainment…..etc are needed. Need to increase focus on coastal and ocean tourism(blue economy). Further, need the capacity and capability for a higher level of quality medical services.

      Moreover,look at the possibility of working more cooperatively and collaboratively with our close neighbor, USVI, on a win-win tourism marketing strategy.

  12. CW says:

    The issue with BVI isn’t visibility due to lack of marketing. The issue is lack of forward thinking. You have an entire tourism board that does an excellent job of getting BVI in all sorts of travel publications with millions of copies in circulation. BUT WHEN PEOPLE REFUSE TO HELP THEIR OWN RECOVERY AND BLAME EXPATS, THE EXPATS TAKE THEIR YACHTS AND THEIR DOLLARS TO OTHER ISLANDS. DUH

    Like 4
    Dislike 1
  13. Shine says:

    Kudos to you Karl!! At least you didn’t mention having a “Chicken Festival” here in the capital. All the best to you in the political arena.

  14. BuzzBvi says:

    Are yes. Like bush cutters becoming Attorney General now students with no experience to be in charge of marketing our most important industry.
    Who needs experience when the BVI has young kids who want a job.
    No point wasting a vote on this guy.
    Container Port for Anegada anyone?

  15. Musa says:

    This guy is a total waste,he only get in the r race becouse of his book name

  16. Anonymous says:

    This is a nice fake suggestion.This is characteristic of the gambling party that has no genuine plan for the country.God will help us.

  17. Fliers innuh says:

    Fliers in 2019? The BVI is a joke. No wonder why all these other

  18. Interested. says:

    Really, is this your marketing strategy. Hope this was not approved by the party you represent. Can you really believe in this century someone who wants to represent their country will bring this to the table as feasible. You are going to ask a group of inexperience students to head your marketing exercise. It is like sending a boy to do a man’s job. Tell me which serious establishment in road town will send student to market a product that they know little about. You cant sell what you dont know. Tortola continue to became the laughing stock of the world. Boy learn to use the back space on your computer. Go dream and come again. Or better yet go sid down. For that plan only family will vote for you.

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