BVI Reopens to Visitors on Dec. 1

The British Virgin Islands has announced its borders will be opened to visitors on December 1, according to Premier and Minister of Finance, Honourable Andrew A. Fahie.

He said that the government is optimistic and is vigorously preparing for the re-opening of the territory to welcome back tourists among others.

Premier Fahie said: “The territory has two full months to prepare and we as a people must get it right and we must get it done by all working together, both the Government and private sector.”

The Premier said that the government intends to reopen the territory in the safest way possible using science and technology as a guide.

“This next phase also comes with a risk factor, where if a case of COVID-19 gets into our Territory, then it can go through the whole community very quickly. That is why we must use technology,” he said. “The concentration must be to use the technology through a simulation prior, to demonstrate that the technology will complement the science to greatly assist us in re-opening in the safest way, humanly possible.

"Please note that we who are in the Virgin Islands must also play our part and play it well to ensure that we adhere to all approved social distancing measures. This will also reduce or eliminate any possible spread of the virus.”

St. Thomas cruise port to expand

By Gay Nagle Myers

St. Thomas is moving ahead with plans to build a new pier at the Havensight cruise terminal, which would enable the busy port to accommodate more ships, including the industry's largest ships.

The Long Bay Landing project calls for two 1,350-foot-long parallel berths that will be divided by a pier. No construction time line has been announced.

Today, mega-ships such as Royal Caribbean's Oasis-class vessels must dock at the Crown Bay terminal when calling in St. Thomas. Crown Bay opened in 2007 with two berths.
 

Of the two ports, Havensight is the busier one. The dock was extended earlier this year so that it could accommodate three ships, but there are times when three berths aren't enough. Ships sometimes have to anchor in the harbor and tender passengers to and from shore when the pier is full.

The Long Bay Landing project will keep the U.S. Virgin Islands competitive with other Caribbean destinations as well as increase government revenue, according to Joseph Boschulte, president and CEO of West Indian Company (WICO), operator of the Havensight terminal.

"We thought long and hard about how this would affect not only our bottom line, but also the territory as a whole. We had to be sure that any new development would not be at the expense of our environment and our community," Boschulte said.

Cruise-related revenue accounts for more than 70% of the Virgin Islands economy.

"We can no longer rest on our laurels, thinking that our islands are the automatic first choice for travelers," Boschulte said. "The competition is tough, and our neighbors have watched both the good and bad choices we have made in order to improve our products."

St. Thomas cruise passengers numbers totaled 1.47 million through September, up 4% over the same period in 2013. Year-end passenger numbers in 2013 came close to the 2 million mark (1.99 million), up 4.9% over 2012.

Brand plans in the Caribbean

By Tom Stieghorst

As cruising grows globally, the Caribbean finds itself competing with rich destinations that have plenty of capital. How do Caribbean countries find the resources to keep their edge in the battle for passengers?

One solution appears to be to tap into the power of established local brands, as some cruise lines and tour operators are doing in Jamaica.

Royal Caribbean International has struck a branding partnership with Red Stripe, the well-known beer brewed on the island by Desnoes & Geddes. The beer's squat brown bottle and painted label are a Jamaican icon, and it is distributed in a number of foreign countries by Diageo, the worldwide liquor marketer. 

Another example is support by Appleton Rum for tours of the 2,000 acre Good Hope estate, a plantation near Falmouth where Royal’s giant Oasis and Allure of the Seas ships dock.

Tour operator Chukka Caribbean Adventures offers the culturally-focused tours. This year it developed excursions for guests to the estate based on coffee, spices and rum, all which were once produced at the historical attraction.

Visitors can take a step back in time to when plantation culture was in its prime, and then purchase products before returning to their ship.

In addition to Appleton, sponsors include Jablum Coffee and Walkerswood Jerk Seasoning.

The use of international brands leverages the earning power of local Caribbean businesses beyond what they might otherwise yield. Some of that money can be returned to marketing local tourist sites to international travelers, fueling a virtuous cycle.

The possibility for rum and beer sponsorships across the Caribbean seems especially promising, with nearly every island producing its own version of rum, from Cruzan in the Virgin Islands to Mount Gay in Barbados and Betancourt in Haiti.

Beyond Red Stripe, beer exports with international followings include Presidente and Bohemia in the Dominican Republic and Kalik in the Bahamas.

Branded partnerships represent the kind of creative financial thinking that Caribbean destinations will have to employ to compete with rich destinations like Singapore and Hong Kong for cruise passengers.

Home-grown brands are a not-so-hidden Caribbean asset, and the time is ripe to put them to good use.