Wheatley: BVI Thriving Amid Global Challenges
Premier Dr. Natalio Wheatley told ZBVI listeners the British Virgin Islands are doing well despite global pressures, pointing to strong tourism recovery and a need for local unity. He said visitor arrivals over the past six months reached roughly 800,000 to 850,000, figures he described as almost equivalent to 2019 totals.
Natalio Wheatley says the British Virgin Islands are “doing very well” despite global headwinds, urging residents to recognise the territory’s strengths even as it tackles ongoing challenges. Speaking on the radio programme Talking Points on ZBVI 780 AM on Monday, July 20, 2026, the Premier highlighted recent tourism figures as evidence of recovery.
He told listeners that visitor arrivals over the past six months were roughly 800,000 to 850,000 — numbers he described as “almost equivalent” to the total arrivals recorded in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic. “The Virgin Islands is a great place to be able to live, a great place to be able to do business, a great place to visit,” Wheatley said, while acknowledging that the territory still faces challenges common to countries worldwide.
He stressed that one of the greatest local challenges is belief in themselves, and that residents often take for granted the advantages of living in the Virgin Islands. Beyond the economic indicators, the Premier made a forceful appeal for unity across the territory’s diverse population.
He asked leaders, public figures and those with platforms to promote togetherness rather than division, noting that people in the Territory come from varied backgrounds, religions and races but must be united by a common love for the Virgin Islands. Wheatley pointed to deep divisions in countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom as examples of how fracturing can hinder national progress, and he urged the BVI to avoid similar pitfalls. “We need persons and public figures and persons who have a platform to promote unity more than division,” he said.
For residents, the Premier’s remarks have practical implications. A sustained rise in tourism can boost employment, small businesses, and public revenues, but it also places greater demand on infrastructure, public services and community cohesion. Local leaders and business owners will need to ensure that growth benefits a wide cross-section of the population while addressing pressures on housing, transport and environmental resources.
Wheatley’s message was both a report on recovery and a call to action: celebrate and build on the Territory’s strengths, and work together to reach the BVI’s full potential. As tourism rebounds, the Premier emphasised that unity at home will be essential to sustain progress and equity across the islands.
Primary source: VINO