Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Over 20K persons have arrived in VI since border re-opening- Premier

Over 20K persons have arrived in VI since border re-opening- Premier

Premier and Minister of Finance with responsibility for Tourism, Honourable Andrew A. Fahie (R1) said since the Virgin Islands began reopening its borders to travellers some six months ago, more than 20,000 persons have arrived through its ports.

The Premier was speaking during an update on the tourism sector via a live televised broadcast yesterday, June 15, 2021.

“Since we began the managed reopening of our borders to international travellers in December 2020, we have received over 20,500 persons coming into the BVI – and these numbers continue to grow daily,” he said.

“At the Road Town Ferry Dock, which began receiving persons entering via the ferries from St Thomas on April 15, 2021, approximately 5,000 arrivals were recorded in total. For the first eight days of June alone, more than 1,600 arriving passengers were received in total.”

Premier Fahie said the vast majority of these persons were tourists, and their arrival would have translated into economic opportunities for taxi drivers, tour operators, charter companies, hotels and accommodations, restaurants, and the economy as a whole.

The Premier stated that for the entire month of May, arrivals at the seaport totalled just over 2,500 persons, adding that “So, you can see the dramatic increase in the numbers as we have been gradually easing the conditions for entering the Territory – as we did last month with the reduction of the BVI Gateway application fee and the quarantine periods for fully vaccinated persons.”

Premier and Minister of Finance with responsibility for Tourism, Honourable Andrew A. Fahie (R1) said since the Virgin Islands began reopening its borders to travellers some six months ago, more than 20,000 persons have arrived through its ports.


Expecting numbers to increase


The Territory’s Leader said he is expecting the arrival numbers to increase.

“We are mindful that a number of places where people would usually travel from to enjoy the BVI, they too are either on lockdown or have limited curfew due to COVID-19 cases. Once things change, we look forward to seeing our number grow even more. I am pleased to say that the Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport has been receiving visitors since the beginning of December 2020. From December 2020 to May 2021, an average of 2,400 arrivals were recorded at the airport on a monthly basis. Total arrivals in May 2021 was 3,012 persons.”

He added that for the first eight days of June, 1,225 arriving passengers have been received already at the airport.

“The trend over the past six months has been that upwards of 70 per cent of arrivals have been tourists. In the last three months, the trend has been where tourists made up over 80 per cent of all arriving passengers at the airport. This means that of the 15,460-plus persons who entered the BVI via the airport since December 2020, more than 11,500 of them were tourists – and for the first eight days of June alone, about 1,000 tourists would have come into the BVI,” he remarked.

The Tourism Minister pointed out that several boats have been seen in Jost Van Dyke, Anegada and Tortola, and businesses are seeing an uptick over the past week.

The Virgin Islands response to COVID-19 has been hailed by regional leaders and was also presented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as a model for the Eastern Caribbean.


VI has made the right decisions- Premier


“These positives are happening because we have stayed the course during the pandemic. This has not been by accident; of course, this only reaffirms what we already know—GOD is with us, and we should continue to see positive results as long as we continue exercising the necessary caution while we manage the full reopening of the tourism industry. The BVI remains one of the most popular, most loved, and most sought after travel destination in the world.”

Premier Fahie added that it is clear the territory made the right decisions in the handling of this pandemic.

The VI government's management of the pandemic has been hailed by regional leaders.

Its response to COVID-19 was also presented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as a model for the Eastern Caribbean.

There has only been 1 death from COVID-19 in the territory, which currently has 2 recorded active cases of COVID-19, according to an update on June 15, 2021.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×