The Board of Directors of the British Virgin Islands Tourist Board & Film Commission has announced the appointment of Mr. Rhodni Skeltonas the Acting Director of Tourism, effective Monday, 25th May 2020. The appointment will run until 30th June, 2020, by which time the organization aims to select a substantive candidate for the post of Director of Tourism.
Mr. Skelton who currently serves as the Deputy Director of Tourism, will act in the post vacated by Mrs. Sharon Flax-Brutus,whose resignation the Board accepted, ending her tenure on 20thMay 2020. He will be responsible for the day to day management of the operations of the BVI Tourist Board including its overseas offices and marketing agencies.
Chairman of the BVI Tourist Board & Film Commission, Mrs.Kenisha Sprauve said, “After expressing our thanks to Mrs. Flax-Brutus for her years of service, we commenced the application process for the post of Director of Tourism. In keeping with organizational procedures, Mr. Skelton, our Deputy Director, has been appointed to act in the position until this process is completed.”
Mrs. Sprauve said the BVI Tourist Board remains focused on developing and strengthening the BVI’s tourism product so that the Territory can maintain its competitive edge when regional andglobal tourism reawakens. An integral part of this exercise, she said, is developing protocols for arriving international travelers in the context of the BVI’s tourism industry.
“The hard work of the various local agencies has ensured that the number of cases of the coronavirus and COVID-19 in the BVI have been kept relatively low. From a total of eight positive cases, the Territory is now confirmed as having zero cases at present.
This, of course, is due to the diligent leadership and management of this situation by the professionals in the private and public sectors locally, and it exposes the capabilities of our Virgin Islands people. Thus, the BVI is placed in an advantageous position when international travel resumes to be ahead of the pack.
The BVI Tourist Board, therefore, is focused on capitalizing on this, and in order to do so, we must develop and test the necessary protocols for all aspects of our tourism product and for the supporting infrastructure,” the Chairman added.
The BVI Tourist Board is working with other Government Departments and Agencies to develop the protocols that will be implemented with the upcoming resumption of limited repatriation flights for BVIslanders who are presently abroad and wanting to return home, which is carded to begin on 2nd June, 2020.
Mrs. Sprauve said this is an important exercise in the journey towards the wider reopening of the borders in due course, based on public health considerations, and the BVI Tourist Board is committed to doing its fullest in assisting this process.
“The BVI is very anxious to have our visitors coming back to our shores, and we cannot wait for the all-clear to be given. There are thousands of persons who are frequent visitors, sometimes visiting annually with their families, and we truly miss their presence. All of our tourism industry stakeholders, and everyone at the BVI Tourist Board, are working assiduously to ensure that we do our part in helping the process. This is our number-one focus,” Mrs. Sprauve said.