The British Virgin Islands Is Creating a New Tourism Marketing Brain Trust

The British Virgin Islands is making a new push to sharpen how it sells the destination to the world.

The British Virgin Islands Tourist Board & Film Commission has officially established a new Marketing Advisory Panel, a tourism-industry group designed to align marketing strategy across the territory and create a more coordinated global tourism message.

The initiative comes as Caribbean destinations continue competing aggressively for travelers across North America and Europe, with destinations increasingly focused on brand clarity, targeted storytelling and year-round demand generation.

The new panel brings together leaders from across the BVI tourism sector, including hospitality executives, marina operators, yacht charter companies, villa specialists, tourism consultants and marketing agencies.

According to the Tourist Board, the panel will focus on several major priorities through 2027, including the global repositioning of the British Virgin Islands brand, the development of new storytelling platforms for the destination and coordinated marketing programs designed to strengthen the territory’s visibility in key international markets.

The group will also examine strategies aimed at reducing seasonality and driving stronger visitor demand during softer travel periods, while identifying initiatives intended to support long-term tourism growth.

The Tourism Board says destination marketing alignment has become increasingly important as tourism organizations and private-sector partners attempt to present a more unified message to travelers.

“In an increasingly competitive global tourism landscape, a unified approach allows the Territory to present a clear, compelling, and consistent brand to potential visitors,” the organization said in a statement.

The panel operates on a voluntary basis, with members serving two-year terms and meeting quarterly in person at tourism properties across the territory.

So far, meetings have been hosted at Rosewood Little Dix Bay and Peter Island Resort, with upcoming sessions scheduled at Moskito Island and Oil Nut Bay.

The latest meeting at Peter Island Resort focused on strengthening the BVI’s positioning in international markets.

“[This] MAP meeting continues to build on the foundation outlined at our first meeting earlier in the year — informed, out of the box strategic thinking that is critical to effectively positioning the BVI in our key global markets,” said Russell Harrigan, a panel member and executive committee member of the BVI Yachting, Hotel & Tourism Association.

Another panel member, Peter Bates, president and founder of Strategic Vision, said the group’s cross-industry makeup could help generate stronger collaboration throughout the destination.

“Having representatives of the varied and different stakeholders together in a room allows everyone to appreciate the opportunities to collaborate to drive additional visitors to BVI,” Bates said. “The significant economic impact from closer collaboration can only be to the good of tourism.”

The creation of the advisory panel is another sign of how Caribbean destinations are increasingly leaning on public-private collaboration to strengthen tourism growth, particularly in luxury and experiential markets where brand identity and coordinated promotion have become central competitive tools.