High Praise for Government From Tourism Industry Partners

~~Adz:Left~~Roadtown; Tortola: Wednesday, August 13 – Government’s initiative to include industry partners in its annual strategic planning meeting has been highly commended.

For the first time this year, the BVI Tourist Board incorporated an Industry Marketplace into its strategic planning process in an effort to gauge the needs of its partners and ensure that the actions of the board remain relevant to the demands of the industry.

Industry partners participating in the first marketplace on Monday were tremendously honoured to be afforded an opportunity to engage in frank discussions with officials of the BVI Tourist Board. A second marketplace has been planned for Thursday, August 14th at the Long Bay Beach Resort.

Premier Honourable Ralph T. O’Neal, OBE gave full support to the initiative saying “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 industry partners in attendance at Monday’s event were unanimous in their support for the marketplace.

Regional Sales Manager for the United States North East, Mr. Iverson Smith described it as an opportunity to know exactly what the board is planning to move the industry forward.

Mr. Smith who is based in New York said “events such as these are very important because we are in a changing environment and we have to be prepared to face the challenges ahead and the only way we can do that is to get together and plan for the future.”

He added that “the movement in the industry is so fast that you really do not have time to sit back and wait, you have to be pro-active and that is exactly what we will be doing at marketplace.”

Another industry partner, Director of Interactive Strategy at Zimmerman Interactive Marketing, Mr. Bill Lickson said there is significant momentum for the tourism industry in the Virgin Islands (UK).

Expressing a desire to see a continued exchange of ideas Mr. Lickson said “great ideas come from everywhere and it is important to capture those and turn them into plans for 2009 to 2010 and beyond.”

He further stated that “the collaborative efforts of this week will lead to fantastic solutions for the BVI as a destination.” Zimmerman Interactive Marketing is currently engaged in redesigning the website of the BVI Tourist Board.

The second Industry Marketplace will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. tomorrow at the Long Bay Beach Resort to facilitate the many partners who were unable to attend the first event.

During the marketplace, the partners are allowed 20 minute meetings with officials of the BVI Tourist Board to have their questions and concerns addressed as well as propose ideas for the way forward.

Tourism is one of the primary economic pillars of the Virgin Islands (UK) and Government stands committed to promoting it and ensuring its survival. 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.

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