The Charter Yacht Society and the Virgin Island Charter League boat shows are booked again for November - Road Town, BVI and St. Thomas, USVI!

As you know, I am a RAVING FAN of the charter yacht industry in the Caribbean!  Each year for the past 34 years the Caribbean charter yacht industry creates an opportunity for the charter yacht vacation Brokers to inspect the charter fleet in two locations - Road Town, Tortola, BVI, and St. Thomas, USVI.  Each of the charter yachts that register for shows present their yachts in the most amazing condition - bright work sparkling, and all of the woodwork freshly varnished.  The crews are decked out in their finest, and the presentation of their yacht is meant to communicate what it would be like for a charter guest to share a week with them.  So, the yacht Brokers are taking notes during the days of the Boat Shows and generally picking their favorite dozen or so yachts they will be promoting to their U.S., Canadian, and European clients.  As I have mentioned in previous articles, there is NOTHING like a charter yacht vacation!  Forget cruise lines.  Be pampered by the most amazing service professionals you will ever meet as your captain and gourmet chef.

There used to be just one Virgin Island Charter League in the Caribbean that served the BVI and the USVI.  But, in the early 1980s the demand for charter yacht vacations grew at such a rate that it made sense to have two distinct organizations specifically serving the British Virgin Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  Even though they are separate associations, they work in tandem regarding any issues facing the charter industry.  An example of that would be like behind the scenes is the work they did together in negotiations with the BVI government that was about to implement an increased TAX on every charter yacht that anchored in the BVI.  It would have added a difficult burden of expenses to the charter fleet that spends most of it’s time in the BVI, when they are all dealing with the oppressive fuel costs for their boats.  Remember, even though most of them are sail boats, they need fuel to run their generators to make sure their guests are comfortable at night with air conditioning, and to make sure they have cold refrigerators and ICE!  So, even though the guests are on a sailing yacht, the yacht needs FUEL to create the unforgettable experience of a crewed chartered sailing adventure.

Back to the Boat Shows…these annual events in the BVI and the USVI are critical moments to support the tourist dollars for both of these island nations and territories.  Tourism is the KEY economy for both of these countries.  The charter yacht vacation industry is an important aspect of tourist dollars.  Speaking from a personal experience of sailing in the Caribbean for 35+ years, the amount of money spent before, during, and after a charter yacht vacation generate almost $1,000 per person to the island nations that are their start and ending port.  These are BIG dollars given the size of the Caribbean charter yacht vacation fleet.  During the 2008 boat shows there will be a Premier’s reception for the BVI show, and a governor’s reception at the USVI show.  Last year at the USVI boat show Gov. deJongh, Lt. Gov. Francis, and Senator Hill were special guests addressing the charter community.  They are not showing up at this event because they have spare time on their hands.  They all know that this industry is a key to the health of their economies.

In past articles, I addressed some of the issues that are facing the Caribbean charter and tourist industries.  The key one is having the airlines figure out a business model that allows them to supply transportation to all of the visitors who want to visit Paradise.  There was an almost 15% increase in tourist coming the Caribbean in the last 12 months.  However, American and Continental Airlines are cutting back their flights by 40% to San Juan, Puerto Rico starting September 1^st.  The airlines industries are struggling to figure out a business model that allows them to stay in business.  I will be at both Boat Shows doing the internet reporting for each of them.  You will have a great time logging on from November 6^th  - 14^th.  I will keep you posted regarding the fun events that will be part of both of these special annual Caribbean events.  Until next time…your Caribbean lifestyle reporter is on duty!