FORMER USVI COMMISIONER NAMED SAINT LUCIA TOURISM CEO

SAINT LUCIA TOURISM AUTHORITY APPOINTS NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

OECS BUSINESS FOCUS

The Board of Directors at the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority (SLTA) has appointed Mrs. Beverly Nicholson-Doty as the organisation’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Mrs. Nicholson-Doty has over three decades of industry leadership experience, including most recently serving as Commissioner of Tourism at the USVI Department of Tourism from 2007 to 2018. She brings significant experience in marketing, sales and strategic planning in Caribbean travel, tourism and hospitality. Mrs. Nicholson-Doty has developed deep relationships with executives across the airline, cruise, hotel and service industries that serve the region, and has created partnership opportunities that include public, private, non-profit, non-governmental and community-based entities.

Mrs. Nicholson Doty’s achievements include the successful development of the Ports of the Virgin Islands concept to brand and develop a collaborative effort to elevate the territory’s port facilities, and the creation of a strategic plan for positioning the USVI as one of the top destinations for the Meetings and Incentives (MICE) market. She was also instrumental in engineering double-digit airline capacity growth over a 10-year period.

The CEO will be responsible for overall management of the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority, including oversight of the development of the Authority’s marketing and destination services, and general administration. She intends to work closely with agencies, institutions and individuals within the public and private sectors of Saint Lucia at home and abroad.

“We welcome Mrs. Nicholson-Doty to the organisation and look forward to the strategic leadership that she will provide implementing and developing our sustainable tourism growth strategy,” said Nicholas John, Chairman of the Board at the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority.

In addition, as CEO, Mrs. Nicholson-Doty will work closely with the Board of Directors to achieve overall objectives, including coordinating and directing the programmes of the Board. In marketing, promotions and publicity, she will be tasked to utilize and deploy resources in the best interest of the development of tourism to Saint Lucia.

I look forward to this opportunity. Our team at the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority will be focused on developing and implementing a strong strategic plan aimed at increasing market share, and even more importantly, increasing visitor spend for maximum return on investment,” said Mrs. Nicholson Doty.

WORLD TOURISM ORGANIZATION HEAD CALLS FOR END TO 'PLANTATION' TOURISM

Stop Promoting Modern Day Plantations Called Exclusive Resorts, Says Rifai

Secretary General of the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), Taleb Rifai, has strongly urged Caribbean tourism stakeholders to stop promoting modern-day plantations called exclusive resorts.

He made the call in a no holds barred speech during day two of the UNWTO Global Conference on Jobs and Inclusive Growth, now on at the Montego Bay Convention Centre.

Rifai was obviously not concerned about ruffling feathers as he warned against the practice of building five-star resorts in three-star communities, where the citizens were not part of the transformation.

He insisted tourism stakeholders cannot continue to have their visitors in bubbles, where there are walls between the visitor and the community.

Rifai emphasised that it was not the model that the UNTWO was looking for.

According to him, the opportunities in tourism should carry the end result of inclusive economic growth, more decent jobs, the distribution of wealth, shared prosperity and respect for each other.

His comments were made in the presence of several all-inclusive hotel operators, the country’s prime minister, Andrew Holness, president of the Dominican Republic, Danilo Medina, tourism minister Edmund Bartlett and several other dignitaries representing the industry.

St. Maarten tops world average for growth in passenger traffic

~ Records 7% increase during first half ~

PHILIPSBURG--St. Maarten continues to prove itself as a preferred destination for travellers with a seven per cent increase in passenger traffic during the first seven months of 2012 compared to the same period in 2011, exceeding the world average of six per cent.

Map by Wikipedia

The figures revealed during the Strategy Summit held at the World Routes conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, show that St. Maarten has held its own despite the economic and financial challenges faced by nations around the globe.

Compared to 485,936 total enplanements from January 1, 2011, to June 30, 2011, Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) saw an increase to 520,018 total enplanements during the first half of 2012.

Various airlines servicing the island also revealed that they were showing healthy load factors for the country, with some indicating that performance of their St. Maarten routes exceeded company expectations.

JetBlue announced that the performance of its San Juan-St. Maarten route during the slow period was better than the airline had anticipated, while United Airlines said its extended seasonal service had surpassed expectations. Delta, the third-largest airline in the world, reported that its load factor to the island was a very healthy average of 90 per cent.

Map by Capitol Air

"As a destination that focuses many efforts on tourism, we are thrilled with these figures," said St. Maarten Tourist Bureau interim director of tourism Augusto Priest. "We will continue to work diligently to promote St. Maarten as a destination of choice and that would enable us to increase passenger traffic."

Officials of the Ministry of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications and of the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau, and management of PJIA (airport code SXM) participated in the St. Maarten delegation at the conference.

Anguilla and Sint Maarten to Deepen Cooperation

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Anguilla-Sint Maarten Discussed Partnership Matters Including Ease Of Travel

The Anguillian

Improving access to Anguilla through St. Maarten, with Juliana International Airport as the hub, with a section to facilitate Anguilla-bound travellers and other immigration issues, was among some of the matters discussed here between Government and tourism officials from both territories.

A ten-member St. Maarten delegation visited Anguilla (in May) . The delegates included Deputy Prime Minister, Theodore Heyliger; Minister of Justice, Roland Duncan; incoming Director of Juliana Airportand former Director of Tourism, Regina La Bega; Tourism Policy Adviser, Angelique Romou; and Marketing Director, Edward Dest. They held discussions at a Functional Cooperation Meeting at Blue Ridge Resort & Conference Centre with Chief Minister and Minister of Tourism, Herbert Hughes; Adviser Jerome Roberts; Minister of Home Affairs, Walcott Richardson; Minister of Communications, Evan Gumbs; Adviser Sam Webster; Permanent Secretaries, Dr. Aidan Harrigan and Foster Rogers; Chairman of the Anguilla Tourist Board, Eustace Guishard; President of the Anguilla Hotel and Tourism Association, Sherille Hughes; Chairman of the Port Authority, Kenn Banks and others.

“This is the most important meeting that I have been able to attend and partially host since I got involved in Anguilla’s political life," Chief Minister Hughes stated, referring to the conference between the two territories. “I think if we can work together…in this part of the Caribbean, we will be very strong and compliment each other,” he said in his welcome remarks.

St. Maarten’s Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Heyliger, looked forward to increased joint cooperation and cited tourism, the amount of trade between the territories and the unity of the people as important factors. The Minister told the Anguilla Government officials about a new master plan for Juliana which took into account some of the challenges facing tourists and other travellers to and from Anguilla.

“We want to simplify the process of making sure that guests coming to Anguilla have a more seamless effort in getting there through St. Maarten,” he said. “That is one of the matters we would like to discuss [in terms] of what you would like to see happen at Juliana as one of our main partners using it as a hub airport. We want to know about some of the things and bottlenecks you encounter, and areas where we can foster a better relationship at the airport with the Government and people of Anguilla. It is our intention, in our plans, for the consultant and the management of Juliana to sit with you in terms of the design of Juliana and how we will change that design to make sure that it accommodates the Government and people of Anguilla.”

Replying, Chief Minister Hughes said it was “mutually benefiting for Juliana Airport to be the hub for both islands and that we should forget Puerto Rico.” He continued: “St. Maarten is really qualified to serve this special region in the Southeastern Caribbean: St. Barths, Saba, Statia, French and Dutch St. Martin/St. Maarten and Anguillla. It is beneficial for Juliana in the sense that the airport would be better utilised by combining all the visitors in this sub-region transiting through Juliana.

“It is therefore a win-win for us that we both continue to promote Anguilla’s tourism product which is destined to be extremely large even though it is at the upper end of the market. Viceroy is now on stream and Flag Luxury is going to be a much bigger entity when it re-starts and finishes. We want to make sure that when we promote our tourism product, we would be promoting Juliana in the process… Airlines would know that there is lucrative business seeing that they would not only have a number of rooms in St. Maarten but also in Anguilla and the neighbouring islands.”

The Chief Minister pointed out that there were people in Anguilla from various Caribbean countries with resident and belonger stamps in their passports as well as having work permits. He said intra-regional travel would facilitate business in St. Maarten and requested that in the new visa requirements such persons should be permitted to travel to and from that Dutch territory. “In the meantime, we would like easy travel for our tourists because that is where we are getting the bulk of our problems…When people pay big money in Anguilla for accommodation they don’t want to be restricted in getting to their destination,”Mr. Hughes added.

Anguilla’s Tourist Board Chairman, Mr. Guishard, said in part:

“One of our primary concerns is facilitating our guests coming into Anguilla through St. Maarten and also exiting St. Maarten. Presently, we have a situation where our guests arrive in St. Maarten and clear immigration, and if they are going to Marigot to the ferry it is simple and straightforward. But if they are travelling from the Dutch side to Anguilla, they have to go all the way over to Simpson Bay. This is a real challenge and we are getting many complaints.”

He reported that an owner of a 10million-dollar villa in Anguilla recently told him: “I will not bring my family back to Anguilla again. If I can sell this villa I would do so because I spent five hours with eight of my family members trying to get from St. Maarten to Anguilla. It is quicker to get from New York to Anguilla than from St. Maarten to Anguilla. I am not prepared to go through that anymore.”

Mr. Guishard noted that prior to this the St. Maarten Minister of Justice, Ronald Duncan, had assured members of an Anguillian delegation that if they could find a dedicated area in St. Maarten to process travellers to Anguilla, he would arrange to have immigration personnel there to facilitate them. “I think we are nearing an agreement on that area which would really help us simplify that matter for our visitors and residents travelling forward and backward,” he went on.

“Another thing which would help us would be to have the ferryboats running late at night, like 10 and 11 o’clock, to coordinate their service with the last flight into St. Maarten. I can also assure you that there would be a lot more traffic with many visitors and residents in Anguilla travelling to St. Maarten for late shopping and early dinners, thus taking advantage of that opportunity.

“We also need to find a way of facilitating in-transit passengers by air. At the moment, our two operators – Trans-Anguilla and Air Anguilla Services – seem to be having some problems. It would be good if you could look at this aspect and see how you could make it easier for our travellers by air coming into St. Maarten and transferring to one of these airlines. This would also assist us tremendously.

“Yet another thing is that we would really like to have an Anguilla Information Desk where passengers come out to the public area from immigration. There are so many travellers coming to Anguilla who enter that area without knowing where to go on their way to our island. We would also be grateful if we could have a special immigration line for arriving passengers for Anguilla as this would be very helpful.”

Mr. Guishard spoke about how the Anguilla Tourist Board had spent large sums of money with airlines, and on road shows, to attract visitors to the island. He emphasised that after all of that the island was still facing an access problem, and that the St. Maarten gateway was the answer.

Dr. Harrigan observed that while a lot of tourists from the North American market used to transit to Anguilla from Puerto Rico, the situation was rapidly changing with St. Maarten now emerging as the primary gateway to Anguilla. He stressed that Anguilla and St. Maarten had been “one economic space for generations” and whatever could be done to facilitate that, would be a fitting opportunity in that general context.

St. Maarten’s Minister for Justice, Mr. Duncan, said he had discussed the island’s difficulties with the Council of Ministers there and had “found good support in Government.” He noted, however, that there was “a little side track as a certain union feels that we may take bread out of their people’s month, but that was not really relevant…”

Mr. Duncan continued: “On the matter of the pre-clearance or the immigration at the airport, we support that. As a matter of fact, I mentioned to the previous delegation that we had a treaty with France that calls for joint controls at the airport. Following that treaty, we could easily do the same thing where an Anguillian Immigration Officer could have a booth on the airport and clear people from St. Maarten to Anguilla. We would have to technically establish a protocol or a treaty for the legal ramifications…

“We have an immigration office at the entrance of the bridge, and we are prepared to put Immigration Officers at the other locations that Anguilla has chosen and so this is something we are working on. I don’t think the night ferry operation is a problem because it is just a matter of scheduling the workers to be there. The airport is open until 10 o’clock at night so if we go to 12, I can’t see any qualm where that is concerned. That also needs the details but that will be no problem whatsoever.

“On the visas: about three weeks ago I sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs a written proposal on the matter to clarify. We recognise that Anguilla has encountered a problem on that. We do have a problem with overcrowding [from two particular countries]. However, in our proposal to Anguilla, what we are saying is if a person is a legal resident of Anguilla, we will treat him as if he has a visa etc. so he can visit and pass through. What we need from the Government of Anguilla is certification of the validity of his documents because in St. Maarten there is quite an industry in falsifying documents.

“As a matter of fact, we have also been publishing something that is not very much known. People with a US Multiple Visa can pass through and have no problem,” Mr. Duncan reported. He also disclosed that there was a 48-hour transit immigration window where persons could be allowed to stay in St. Maartenduring that period, but there were no hotel accommodation facilities at the airport, a matter that was still being worked out.

He further disclosed that since the visa requirements hehad been issuing visa waivers to persons for emergency and other related cases.

The Functional Cooperation Meeting between the Governments of Anguilla and St. Maarten also covered cooperative marketing efforts; and airlines services in the region and further afield being provided by Jet Blue to Puerto Rico, Copa and Col Airlines and West Jet to South America and Canada respectively.

For Chile, Colossal Trouble On Easter Island (Rapa Nui)

Annie Murphy
National Public Radio

Easter Island's ancient stone statues number nearly 1,000 and stand like sentries on the dramatic landscape. The descendants of the indigenous Rapanui people who made the carvings have a dispute with Chile over land and rights. The monumental statues of Easter Island have made the isolated island, more than 2,000 miles off the coast of Chile, an international tourist destination that carries the U.N. designation as a World Heritage Site. But the modern-day descendants of the people who made those ancient statues, the indigenous Rapanui, have a conflict with the Chilean state.

When Chile took over in the late 19th century, the Rapanui were pushed off their lands. Several thousand Rapanui still live on Easter Island, but they say outsiders now control the island, including its lucrative tourism industry.

On a breathtaking rocky point that juts out into sapphire-blue water, the Hanga Roa Hotel is a luxury eco-resort and spa — at least, it was supposed to be until the Hito clan took it over.

On a recent day, dozens of men, women and children were camped out on the lobby's couches. They evicted hotel staff, and they cook traditional Rapanui food on outdoor fires. Santi Hitorangi, a member of the Rapanui (pronounced rap-ah-NEW-ee), said he started this chain of events by planting a garden next to the hotel, which sits on land that used to belong to his clan.

Decades ago, the property was acquired by the government, and then traded between private owners. By law, only Rapanui can own land on Easter Island. But the law is not strictly enforced. Hitorangi said the Rapanui want to recover ownership of the entire island. When charges were pressed against Hitorangi, he went to the U.S., where he is now based.

"First and foremost is the title to the land, because there you have the right to determine local politics, to represent the Rapanui people, the Rapanui interests, culture," he said by phone from his home in Goshen, N.Y. "Bear in mind that the presence of the colonial government of Chile in Rapanui has one main purpose — to assimilate us to them."

The Rapanui are the original inhabitants of this windswept piece of grass, rock and sand. Geographically, Easter Island is part of Polynesia. It is home to nearly 1,000 mysterious statues called moai, positioned across the island like sentries amid a dramatic setting of volcanic stone cliffs above the ocean. When Chile laid claim to the island just over a century ago, it simply corralled the Rapanui into the island's one town, the village of Hanga Roa, and leased the rest to a sheep farm. It wasn't until the 1960s that the Rapanui became Chilean citizens.

Today, the village has a steady stream of tourists, which means it has electricity and water. Many Rapanui work in tourism and live in small cement or wood houses topped by metal roofs. Some still use horses to get around and do work.

For a tourist, Easter Island can feel like paradise — beautiful scenery, warm climate and world-class archaeological sites. The Rapanui are fine with tourists coming to their island. It is the unchecked flow of Chileans they are upset about.

Angela Tuki is part of the clan that has taken over the Hanga Roa Hotel. "We're tired of explaining everything to the state. Everything they do here goes badly. Especially immigration — it's not immigration, it's an invasion," she said. "Since there's no border between the island and the mainland, the state doesn't listen to us as a distinct ethnic group." The Hito clan has taken over the one hotel, but dozens of other properties in town are being occupied by other clans with ancestral claims.

The island's governor resigned because of the situation. Interim Gov. Jorge Miranda — who is from mainland Chile — said the Rapanui can't just expect the current government to solve century-old problems. "Unfortunately it's true that there were abuses and human rights violations. But it happened in another context, under another administration. We have good intentions to dialogue and resolve this problem peacefully," he said. But many Rapanui have lost faith in the Chilean government and don't even identify themselves as Chilean.

Tihi Tuki, a member of the clan occupying the Hanga Roa Hotel, wears fatigues as if in combat and has a topknot of rust-colored hair. Tuki spent years collecting garbage in town and said he quit because he felt like a servant to Chile. He tattooed the word "trash" on his right hand in Rapanui, so he wouldn't forget the experience. Now he plays music, does woodworking and finds odd jobs. Tuki lives in a shelter made of salvaged metal near Anakena Beach, an isolated cove on the north end of the island. It is also a popular spot for tourists. "I'm the heir to this place; this has nothing to do with the Chilean government. And I'm going to occupy the land that rightfully belongs to me," Tuki said.

But the Rapanui face big challenges and constant setbacks. Police recently evicted the Hito clan from the Hanga Roa Hotel. And the clan went right back and reoccupied it.

Caribbean Tourism and 'Unrealistic Projections'

Cayman News Service
Unrealistic projections behind failures says survey


(CNS): A survey of lenders in the Caribbean revealed that tourism development projects that have either stalled or failed in the region did so because of unrealistic projections or forecasting. The “Caribbean Regional Financing Survey” by KPMG’s regional advisory practice also pointed to lack of cash and poor financial management. As a result the lenders surveyed said the key lessons they had learned would see a back to basics, conservative, long- term approach to lending in the region. The accountants also found that failed or half-built projects will continue to find it very hard to refinance.

This year for the first time KPMG also included development banks in the survey to capture the emergence of a potential new source of financing in the sector. Lenders were asked about the key lessons learned over the past year and in general the responses revealed a back to basics return to a conservative, long- term approach to lending. “The common themes that emerged from this year’s report should not be a surprise to anyone.

There is a more cautious lending environment across the entire region,” said Tully Cornick, (above) head of Corporate Finance with KPMG in the Cayman Islands.

Kris Beighton, (right) a partner with KPMG in the Cayman Islands and head of its Transactions and Restructuring group said: “Lenders appear to be seeking more contact with their clients, more frequent reviews of their projections, taking a more ‘hands-on’ approach and encouraging clients to plan for tough times.”

With respect to development financing, responses indicated that the level of reliance on pre-sales had become very unattractive and should pre-sales be considered as a source of funding then more manageable phasing and more thorough due-diligence would be required.

Lenders said they remain cautious about the projects they are willing to finance and where. When asked to name their current top three markets they noted The Bahamas; Barbados and Bermuda. However, when asked about future investment, there was less agreement, with The Bahamas, Jamaica and Costa Rica all in the running.

All agreed that good airlift and strong market demand were crucial for the success of any project. Collectively those surveyed reported total exposure in the region in excess of US$2.58 billion.

When asked what characteristics might suggest to them that a development should be re-financed or otherwise revived they noted: Strong project sponsorship (new and sufficient infusion of cash), quality of sponsors and current customer base, strong project fundamentals and structural competencies such as good location, adequate airlift and viable infrastructure.

KPMG also revealed that some lenders were not willing to share quantitative responses concerning loan parameters, a reflection of the more cautious attitude, the accountants said.

Other findings in the survey included the average debt service coverage ratio covenants and interest rate margins are higher than they have been for a long time; average loan to value ratios remain relatively consistent and the average loan tenor has shortened.

KPMG stated that recovery in the major tourism and investment markets will take time to translate into recovery in the region. “The development pipelines will be fairly slow for the next two to three years and the roller coaster ride in personal savings and investments over the last few years could further dampen the demand for second homes even longer; the exception being very high net worth individuals,” it said in a release about the survey.

Have Tourism and Financial Services Failed the BVI?

The challenges faced by the British Virgin Islands tourism and financial services sectors in the present international economic climate are analysed by Virgin Islander Benito Wheatley, Program Board Associate at the Institute of Caribbean Studies in Washington, D.C. The paper is published below with the kind permission of Mr. Wheatley. The views expressed in the paper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial opinion of Overseas Territories Review.
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Fiscal year 2009 has started off on a less than optimistic note for the British Virgin Islands (BVI). In the tourism sector, industry reports estimate that tourist arrivals are down 15 to 20 percent in the first quarter and present a bleak forecast for the remainder of the year. In the financial services sector, data indicates that by the end of 2008 new international business company incorporations were down 20 percent, presumably on uncertainty about the future of the financial industry.

What these trends indicate is that the BVI is beginning to feel the negative effects of the global economic crisis, as the economies of its major tourism markets in the United States (US) and Europe enter into recessions and the global financial crisis prompts calls by international leaders for financial reform, including enhanced regulatory oversight and scrutiny of offshore financial centers. These developments have created unfavorable global economic and financial conditions for tourism and financial services industries in the BVI.

The nature of the current crises has limited the government and private sectors’ abilities to adjust the Territory’s economic position in the short-term or scale back the impending economic downturn that is beginning to take effect. In the interim, the private sector will have to make painful cutbacks, while the government considers stimulus measures to help propel the economy along during what is expected to be an economically challenging fiscal year.

The deteriorating economic situation raises important questions about the viability of the BVI’s economy and the durability of the twin pillars economic strategy pursued by BVI governments since the early 1980s: Is the BVI’s twin pillars (i.e. tourism and financial services) economic strategy sufficient to sustain economic growth? Are third, fourth and even fifth economic pillars necessary to ensure the Territory’s economic survival? What other sectors and industries should be developed in the interest of economic security? The answer to these questions and how the society’s leadership responds to today’s harsh international climate will largely determine the economic future of the BVI.

The viability of the twin pillars economic strategy is currently under test by the global economic and financial crises, which have exposed the strategy’s underlying weakness: over-reliance on the tourism and financial services sectors for economic growth and too narrow a focus on the United States and certain European and Asian markets. The BVI’s tourism and financial services sectors’ dependence upon favorable economic and financial conditions in North America, Europe, and Asia for economic growth make the Territory’s economy particularly vulnerable to economic shifts and financial swings in the world’s leading economies, as well as shifting attitudes toward financial regulation within their societies.

While the strategy has provided the BVI with robust economic growth during periods of economic expansion and growth in its target markets, it has lead to economic contractions during economic downturns or financial turbulence. Essentially, the twin pillars economic strategy is too narrow in scope and does not encourage diversification of the economy beyond tourism and financial services or the establishment of other sectors and industries that can provide economic growth and help mitigate the negative effects of global economic slowdowns, downturns, or recessions.

Initially, tourism and financial services were logical targets for the development of low capital-intensive industries in the BVI that could quickly generate employment and revenue for an under-resourced and under-developed society. However, after years of robust economic growth the society became comfortable with the consistent economic gains and financial returns generated by tourist arrivals and offshore banking. For far too long, government and the private sector operated under the assumption that the economies of North America, Europe, and Asia would grow indefinitely. This assumption, however, has been proven false by the global economic and financial crises that is wreaking havoc on the world’s leading economies, many of which are now in recession.

The dangers of an undiversified economy are all too clear as the crises have demonstrated after hundreds of layoffs in tourism sectors throughout the Caribbean and a series of international financial scandals that have intensified opposition by world leaders to offshore financial centers, often referred to as tax havens. In some Caribbean economies, tourism accounts for more than 50 percent of employment and government revenues, while financial services employs a significant portion of the region’s working population and contributes disproportionately to the operating budgets of various governments. In the BVI, it is the collective failure of the society as a whole to adequately diversify the economy that has left the Territory in its rather precarious economic position.

Diversification of the economy is the logical solution to insulating the Territory against future global calamities such as the global economic and financial crises. Notably, consecutive governments have dubbed agriculture the third economic pillar of the economy, but in reality this is not the case. The agricultural sector is not a major contributor to gross national product and output in the farming and animal husbandry industries is little above the smallholder level.

Despite public rhetoric about the importance of agriculture, the sector has received marginal support and investment when compared to the capital and other resources poured into the tourism and financial services sectors by government and the private sector. As it concerns food security, the development of a modern agricultural sector is paramount and should be vigorously pursued by the farming community with the support of government. However, despite its strategic importance, the agricultural sector is not an optimal candidate for a third economic pillar.

The problems of land scarcity, access to water, and labor costs place incredible constraints on commercial production and it is highly unlikely that the agricultural sector will achieve the level of output required to firmly establish the sector as an engine of economic growth for the Territory.

Exploration of other sectors is urgently needed to identify and develop other industries that can provide the immediate economic boost needed in the near-term to lift the Territory’s economy during the projected lean years of global economic recovery. One such sector is the growing back-office market. In the back-office sector, support-services industries perform back-office operations (i.e. accounting, communications, technical support etc.) for corporations, financial institutions, and technology firms seeking cost savings. India is a popular destination for the outsourcing of technical support and communications with its massive call center operations. The BVI has many natural advantages that would make it a strong competitor for back-office services, particularly in the outsourcing of finance, accounting, communications, and administrative office functions.

First, the BVI boasts a relatively well educated English-speaking population and an experienced workforce that has supported the financial services sector for the past 25 years. The Territory’s wealth of experience in the offshore banking industry would be highly attractive to back-office clients seeking to outsource finance and accounting functions to low cost centers.

Second, the BVI has the basic infrastructure required to conduct back-office operations. The islands are equipped with a modern communications network that boasts high speed internet, facsimile, video conferencing, cellular, and telephone services. This is complimented by the wide availability of commercial office space that offers all the amenities of the modern office. Notably, the government and BVI Electricity Corporation have committed to providing the islands with a first class electricity grid that can meet all the Territory’s power needs.

Third, the Territory’s geographical location places it within a comfortable distance from the United States, and its financial capital New York City in particular, and within the same time zone (Eastern Standard Time). The Territory’s international airport offers daily service to Puerto Rico and Antigua where connecting flights are available to the US, UK, and other international destinations. In addition, the Territory has relatively dependable local postal services and a variety of internationally renowned express mail carriers, including the US Postal Service, FedEx, UPS, and DHL.

Fourth, the BVI is politically stable and an Overseas Territory of Britain. The Territory’s political status and options for legal recourse would provide back-office clients with a real sense of security and a high degree of comfort in conducting business in the Territory.

Finally and most importantly, BVI residents can offer back-office services, at least in the fields of accounting and finance, at a relatively lower hourly rate or salary than their counterparts in the US and UK, where the cost of an accountant or financial analyst to perform basic functions is significantly higher. At present, mutual funds, hedge funds, investment banks, commercial banks, and various other financial institutions are under intense pressure to find cost savings in today’s poor financial climate. The cost of the mutual fund industry’s back-office operations located in Ireland, Luxembourg, and various regions of the United States, has risen significantly on labor costs and firms are now seeking cheaper alternatives elsewhere. The back-office sector presents the BVI with potential opportunities for the development a new industry, which should be explored and pursued if found to be commercially viable.

Whatever the sectors and industries identified for development, the key is that the BVI arguably requires additional economic pillars to diversify the economy and firmly buttress the Territory against external shocks such as the global economic and financial crises. How the society responds to the challenge of economic diversification will have a profound impact on the BVI’s economic future. Failure to act in these uncertain times will only jeopardize the wealth and prosperity so hard earned by BVIslanders and others over the course of a generation.