National Tourism Policy to be finalised by June 2025

Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley has indicated that his government is expected to finalize its long-awaited National Tourism Policy by June 2025.

Speaking at a recent press conference, Dr Wheatley confirmed that consultations will be conducted on each of the major islands to ensure stakeholders contribute to the policy’s development. The initiative follows on the heels of the National Tourism Summit, which gathered over 200 industry partners to discuss the sector’s future.

“The summit served as a launch pad for the formulation of the National Tourism Policy and also the National Tourism Plan,” Dr Wheatley stated.

Record-breaking tourism figures

The announcement comes as the BVI recorded a surge in visitor arrivals in 2024, surpassing the one million mark for the first time since 2016.

The increase included a record-breaking 768,293 cruise ship passengers, up 6.8% from 2023. Overnight visitor numbers rose 16.7% to 305,876, while day-trippers reached a historic high of 17,970, a 35.1% increase from the previous year.