ROADTOWN Tortola BVI, March 15th, 2012 – The BVI delegation that attended this year’s Seatrade Cruise Shipping Convention in Miami Beach, Florida capitalised on opportunities to showcase the Virgin Islands as a premiere travel destination and engaged in fruitful discussions with leading experts in the cruise industry.
Minister for Communications and Works, Honourable Mark Vanterpool led the delegation that included officials from the Ministry, BVI Tourist Board and the BVI Ports Authority. Delegates took the opportunity to attend daily conference sessions and networked with other industry stakeholders.
The conference schedule included highly focused round-table sessions with leading industry experts including the Presidents and Chief Executive Officers of Carnival Cruise Lines, Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Holland America Line, Inc. and Norwegian Cruise Line.
The topics of discussion included current issues such as global source market trends, new destination development; challenges and opportunities facing today's cruise industry; standards for port and cruise ship security and surveillance, the driving forces behind upscale cruising and the importance of high standard terminal infrastructure development to meet the changing demands of the consumer.
"The discussions yielded very sobering statistics that highlighted the urgency with which the Territory must move to enhance the visitor experience by ensuring that we remain an attractive, yet unique destination," Minister Vanterpool told the Department of Information and Public Relations.
According to Minister Vanterpool with the rise of the wealthy Asian middle class and other influential areas of the world with large populations such as China, market trends are shifting and so are the needs of the travellers, particularly in the luxury market. As a result, it was noted that several countries with a tourism focus are making immense investments to improve their infrastructure, including air and seaport links, as well as the development of land-based cultural attractions.
These emerging trends, the Minister stated, have definite implications for the Virgin Islands in such a highly competitive cruise industry.
“Maintaining our presence at important annual conventions such as Seatrade Cruise Shipping, is a crucial component in maintaining and growing a niche market of cruise and overnight visitors to the Territory,” he said adding," It is also necessary for the infrastructure to be in place to support the increasing needs of these segments of our tourism market."
Minister Vanterpool also stressed the need for public education campaigns to communicate a message of change and the need to urgently refocus our priorities particularly where infrastructural development is concerned so as not to lose overall market share in key industries such as tourism which is one of our economic pillars.
Members of the delegation reported that overall, they welcomed the opportunities for learning and engagement and that they were proud to be able to represent the Territory of the Virgin Islands at such a prestigious event.
Seatrade Cruise Shipping Convention in Miami is one of the leading international exhibition and conference serving the cruise industry, bringing together suppliers and buyers for a week of networking sourcing and education.
The Ministry of Communications and Works is committed to the continued development and maintenance of the Territory’s public infrastructure.
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