National
Tourism Development Plan
By the mid 1990’s it became clear that the role of
tourism in the economic transformation of the British Virgin Islands and
interruptions experienced by natural hazards required Government to
further develop tourism in a planned way. Tourism is the most dynamic
sector in the economy accounting for almost 30% of gross domestic product
and providing almost one in every four jobs.
Government recognizes that tourism must grow in a managed way focusing on
enhanced environmental management, increasing opportunities for
BVIslanders in both employment and equity positions and obtaining more
value added to our tourism product. With assistance from the US
Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Organization
of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), the GBVI obtained a grant of
$145,000 to assist with the Project. In a competitive
bidding exercise the firm of Coopers & Lybrand was
awarded the contract to under take the consultancy based on the terms of
reference.
The NTDP was developed by a Steering Committee in
collaboration with the consultants. The Steering Committee consisted all
stakeholders in the tourism sector to ensure the full participation and
consideration of the inputs of all interested groups. Tourism is the
largest and most dynamic sector in our economy and it often bears the
brunt of criticism in terms of government policies. The Island Sun
newspaper, on 28 February 1996, sums up the situation in an article, A
Burning Issue. The methodology employed to develop this policy
centred around a consultative process involving all the stakeholders and a
fully committed attempt to include BVIslanders as beneficiaries at every
step in process.
The consultants conducted a situation analysis before developing the
policy framework. In examing the Present
Situation the
consultants looked at the present fabric of society including population
demographics, the macro economy, the sectoral situation in tourism and a
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis. The
National Tourism Development Strategy proposed by the consultants
is supported by an Environmental
Strategy, A Tourism Product
and Infrastructural Strategy, A
Marketing Strategy, Human
Resources,
organizational and socio-economic elements of the study, and The
Implementation Strategy. To support and to extend the strategy into
action, the consultants added appendices on:
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The Institutional Framework for the Conduct of
Marketing
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Initiatives up to 1995 have been important in the
Marketing of the BVI.
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The Role of the BVI Tourist Board
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Who is the BVI Visitor and what is the competitive
position
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Suggested Organizational Design
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