Premier Voices Concern Over Tourism Industry Wages

~~Adz:Left~~Roadtown, Tortola: Tuesday, August 12 - Premier Honourable Ralph T. O’Neal, OBE is concerned about the inequitable distribution of wages in the tourism industry.

Speaking at the Industry Marketplace organised by the BVI Tourist Board, the Premier noted that although the tourism industry is the biggest employer in the Virgin Islands (UK), the remuneration of people employed within that industry leaves a lot to be desired.

According to the Premier who is also the Minister for Tourism, “it is the lowest paying industry.”

He elaborated saying “from some random samplings, I have discovered that in most cases 10% of the people employed in the hotel industry draw sixty percent of the wages paid which means that ninety percent of the employees in that industry draw 40% of the wages paid.”

It is a grim picture the Premier observed “when in most cases those among the 90% are drawing the minimum wage.”

The Premier told the gathering of industry partners that the situation is exacerbated by the fact that some hotels do not remain open year round.  “In some cases, hotels close operations for two or two and a half months a year, so that means a further reduction in the earning capacity of the employees,” he said.

According to the Premier, the challenge facing the BVI’s tourism industry is to “keep our hotels open all year round as Little Dix Bay and Peter Island did when they were opened in the 1960s.”

Despite the challenges facing the industry, the Premier is confident that with effective collaboration as exemplified by the Tourist Board’s initiative this week in hosting an Industry Marketplace “we can build an organization of dedicated soldiers in this battle for the tourist dollar.”

Monday’s marketplace allowed industry partners to have direct consultation with the officials of the BVI Tourist Board. The Premier in his speech welcomed the initiative saying “I feel that it is necessary to have a substantive dialogue with the industry and take their thoughts and ideas into consideration as we make our plans for moving forward.”

The tourism industry is one of the main economic pillars for the Virgin Islands (UK) and as such constitutes one of the priority areas for Government. It is the vision of this administration that the tourism sector will maintain its leadership position as a diverse, upscale niche market destination while at the same time maintaining environmental sustainability, social and cultural balance.