Direct Flights To Add 200K Overnight Visitors - Vanterpool

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(PLTM) - When the direct flights between Miami International Airport and Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport, Beef Island commence, over 200,000 additional overnight visitors annually are anticipated.

Hon. Mark Vanterpool, Minister of Communications and Works in a bid to defend the $7M investment deal made by government with BVI Airways to facilitate the non-stop service, said the positive effect is far-reaching.

"The $7M invested cannot be measured only as $7M; it has a broader measurement. The moment you are able to bring people in directly and your 400,000 passengers that you normally bring on a overnight basis every year comes up to 500,000 or 600,000 because of the direct flight like this," he said.

According to the Minister, this also means well for the economy, given that overnight passengers have more spending power than cruise passengers.

"The multiple effect is not $7M, the multiple effect is those extra passengers who are able to come here more directly, who are able to spend. I don’t know what is the average for overnight visitors, but cruise ships it’s a $100, so overnight visitors I am sure is more than that, triple or more than that for overnight visitors who spend seven nights here in a week, " he said.

Minister Vanterpool argued that the government is simply doing what it believes will benefit the Territory's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

"The Premier decided that in his own wisdom that tourism is a major sector that we need to improve on, based on what is happening worldwide even with the financial services...The government supported that approach because we felt it was at a time until we come to the point where we get an airport expanded that we want to be able to bring passengers on a direct manner on this airline," he noted.

"And the government decided to make an investment in that process because the government feels that it is important to improve our tourism market."

Members on the Opposition have questioned the viability of the deal and whether the flights will take off this year, noting that BVI Airways is yet to receive approvals from the regulators.

Government has already paid out $5M to BVI Airways; however, the date for the start of flights has shifted from October to possibly November.

"The Premier made a very good decision. We want to make it happen…It may not happen in November, December or January, but the fact is the effort is being made to make it happen. Things don’t always go perfectly," Minister Vanterpool said.

BVI Airways announced this week that it has completed the purchase and taken delivery of its first jet aircraft for the direct flights.

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