Tourism summit scheduled for January 2025

The BVI is set to host a pivotal tourism summit in January 2025 that seeks to reshape the territory’s tourism strategy.

Junior Minister for Tourism and Culture Luce Hodge-Smith recently explained the summit’s role in engaging industry stakeholders to collaboratively develop a forward-looking tourism plan. “We’re going to be inviting the tourism industry persons, stakeholders, to come and share with us,” Hodge-Smith stated. “We’ll share with them some of our plans for tourism going forward, what our strategy is going to be, what our plan is going to be, but to get their input before we can actually produce a strategy or a strategic plan or even a policy.”

This initiative comes at a critical juncture for the BVI’s tourism sector. In November 2024, Fodor’s Travel included the BVI in its ‘No List 2025’, highlighting destinations facing significant challenges due to tourism pressures. The publication noted concerns over the territory’s emphasis on cruise tourism, with cruise ship passengers accounting for approximately 72% of the over 683,000 visitors in the first half of 2024.