No plan! Walwyn criticises government’s tourism efforts

The government has faced criticism for attempting to advance the BVI’s tourism sector without a clear plan and for its lack of competitiveness in the region.

Sixth District Representative Myron Walwyn told lawmakers that he questioned technocrats during the Standing Finance Committee (SFC) phase of budget deliberations and said no one could give him answers about a tourism plan.

“It seems as if the [tourism] company has not been engaged, or there’s some sort of litigation… Everybody in the room — when I asked the question — was so frightened. They didn’t know what to tell me,” Walwyn said.

He added: “You should have seen, Premier. You weren’t there, you were somewhere across the world shaking hands with the upper echelon.”

“Your competitors are continuously, continuously, continuously upgrading themselves, and you are there dilly-dallying. Dilly-dallying, spending money on other things that are not important. But the things that are important to the economy, nothing is happening with them,” he asserted.

Tourists in bushes

Walwyn questioned the government over its level of investment in the territory’s tourism product and about whether any training is being done to improve the current state of affairs. The lawmaker also lambasted the government over the territory’s inadequate tourism facilities.

“You go on the beaches knowing you can’t find a restroom. We have tourists going through the bushes to relieve themselves in what we call a luxury destination,” Walwyn said as he pressed the government about its efforts.