Gov’t to explore tourism risk mitigation — Premier
The government has announced plans to address the risks associated with tourism as it works to enhance the sector’s contributions to the economy.
2025-01-28 17:38:49 - VI News Staff
Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley revealed this during his first press conference of 2025, highlighting overcrowding as a key challenge. “Cruise tourism is an important part of our economy,” he explained. “We’ve had some conversations about the challenges of overcrowding.” According to the Premier, hundreds of taxi drivers, vendors, and businesses depend on it, and the Port Authority benefits financially from the $15 head tax on over 760,000 passengers. However, he warned that overcrowding at popular locations could diminish the visitor experience if not properly managed.
Dr Wheatley explained that the government plans to convene stakeholders to develop solutions for evenly distributing tourists across the territory. He added that this discussion will allow stakeholders to ensure that none of the beaches exceed their carrying capacity. Improving cultural tourism offerings is also a priority. The Premier said the government is focused on cultivating cultural experiences catering to cruise passengers and overnight visitors. “We want to be able to upgrade our offerings and improve our product, and part of what we want to strengthen is getting our cultural product up to par,” he asserted.