BVI Gateway is the online portal which all residents and non-residents must use to register before travelling to the BVI amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. After some eight months of closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the BVI opened its borders to tourists on December 1.

Because the tourism industry suffered greatly due to the closure, many people have been anxiously awaiting official numbers recorded by BVI Gateway as this will give some idea of how well the tourism product is recovering from the global pandemic.

A week after the territory opened, BVI News sought this information from Premier Andrew Fahie. Premier Fahie directed our news centre to senior communication personnel within his government saying he was in “urgent meetings”.

However, we are still awaiting a response with these official numbers.

What is known

Premier Fahie had said a total of 107 guests arrived on December 1 and nearly 200 arrived in the first two days.

However, it is unclear how many of these travellers were residents, work permit holders and tourists.

Limiting factors

When the government first announced the COVID-19 protocols a few months ago, a number of local business owners reported cancellations from tourists who had pre-booked trips to the BVI. This was reportedly due to the stringent rules implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The government then revised the protocols after much public outcry.

Last week, BVI News reported that a number of travellers to the BVI have taken to social media to express frustration caused by problems they experience when trying to register their trips via BVI Gateway.

Some of the travellers said they had decided to delay travel to the BVI because of the glitches with BVI Gateway.