I am pleased to inform the people of the Virgin Islands of a major and encouraging development within our cruise tourism sector.

Traditionally, the summer months from June to October have seen very low cruise activity, impacting many small businesses and individuals who rely on cruise tourism.

However, this trend is changing.

Confirmed bookings for 2026 indicate that the Virgin Islands will receive a record 52 cruise calls during the summer period, bringing an estimated 165,700 passengers to our shores. This marks a significant milestone for the Territory and reflects the results of our continued engagement with cruise partners over the years.

At the Seatrade Cruise Global Conference in April 2026, we again advocated strongly for increased summer calls, highlighting the Virgin Islands held direct discussions with several major cruise line partners and strongly advocated for increased calls, highlighting the readiness of our ports, the strength of our tourism product, and the importance of year-round visitor arrivals.

While cruise scheduling takes time, we are now seeing the positive results of those consistent efforts, and we sincerely thank the cruise lines for their partnership and support.

This increase in summer calls will provide an important boost to taxi operators, tour providers, restaurants, retailers and many other local businesses. It will also help create greater economic stability and support employment during what has traditionally been a slower season.

The Ministry remains committed to working closely with the BVI Ports Authority, the Cyril B. Romney Tortola Pier Park, the BVI Tourist Board, and our Ship Agents to sustain this momentum, strengthen our tourism product, and continue positioning the Virgin Islands as a premiere cruise destination in the region.

This achievement is the result of strategic engagement, strong partnerships, and deliberate action, and we remain focused on ensuring that the benefits of this growth are felt throughout the Territory.

I thank you.