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BVI team wraps up fact-finding mission
by The Daily Herald
Posted: Jun 6, 2007 15:20 UTC
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PHILIPSBURG - The rejuvenation of Philipsburg and Dr. A.C. Wathey Cruise and Cargo Facilities, a top-10 ranking port in the Caribbean, continues to draw delegations from Caribbean islands seeking to adopt similar development strategies.
A delegation from the British Virgin Islands (BVI) wrapped up a three-day mission here today during which they took notes about the harbour facilities, improvements in town and the month-old St. Maarten Festival Village.
BVI Ports Authority Director Vincent O’Neal said there has been talk about the development on St. Maarten for some time now and interest was further heightened by information collected at Seatrade Conference in Miami, Florida, a few months ago.
Like St. Maarten, BVI is preparing to welcome the 220,000 ton genesis class of cruise ships in 2009. The island group is scouting for ideas and approaches to improve its tourism product. BVI receives about one million cruise passengers annually. Combined with stay-over visitors, the island has an annual passenger count of over 1.2 million.
O’Neal thanked George Pelgrim of Intermar Shipping for helping to set up the island. Pelgrim met BVI representatives at Seatrade and, learning about their interest, helped put them in contact with relevant authorities here.
The visiting group also met with representatives of the Environmental Development and Property Management Department VROM to learn about planning approaches for the rejuvenation of town and other projects.
Part of the delegation were: BVI Ports Authority Chairman Carl Dawson, O’Neal, Town and Country Planning Chief Planner Louie Potter, Deputy Chief Planner Steve Augustine, Security and Marine Manager Sean Durrant and BVI Ports Authority Information Consultant Mikey Farara. The group heads to St. Kitts today on a similar mission.
The group met with Harbour Affairs Commissioner Theo Heyliger and St. Maarten Ports Authority (SMPA) Managing Director Keith Franca.
Heyliger said visits such as this one proved that St. Maarten was a forward-moving and cutting-edge destination that continued to make improvements to its products. Another pending port upgrade is the planned expansion that is up for approval by government.
Franca told The Daily Herald interest from groups such as BVI shows that St. Maarten is “doing something right.” He added that local port officials also go on similar fact-finding missions. A case in point was the recent trip he and two other managers took to the Cayman Islands.
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