‘We are open for business in some areas’- Lorna G. Smith
Mrs Smith appeared on the popular radio show Sparks Plug aired on ZBVI 780 AM on Saturday November 11, 2017. Mrs BVI 2017, Zoe J. Walcott-McMillan was the host of the weekly show.
“Advertisement lifted my spirits immeasurably”- Lorna G. Smith
The retired civil servant explained that although the VI has gone through a severe hurricane, tourists must be encouraged to come to the VI.
“I think we are open for business. I go out, I spend money and there is food in the supermarkets and we can buy anything that we want to buy. We go to restaurants, we go to bar and so on. I saw the advertisement and it lifted my spirits immeasurably. As I said we need to manage expectations and we need to encourage people to come and spend money in the British Virgin Islands,” explained the First Lady.
She continued, “Yes, we have just gone through a category 5 hurricane but we can’t just sit on our hands. We have to be up and continuing to do business.”
Mrs Smith emphasised that Financial Services did not stop operating following the passage of Hurricane Irma, adding that all of the financial services buildings were not destroyed by the hurricane.
She explained, “You would find that the online platform that is used for company and corporations, they were able to continue. The hurricane struck on Wednesday and by Monday the operations were able to continue using generators and so on. In fact we ourselves are housed there and people were able to move.”
Mrs Smith revealed that as a result of Hurricane Irma, the plans for approximately 40 Chinese investors that were scheduled to arrive in the VI was cancelled; however, she stated that they invited her instead to give a presentation.
“We are open for business but there are some limitations” – Zoe J. Walcott-McMillan
Meanwhile, the host asked the First Lady if she believes the government is over marketing, recognising that when people come to the VI they are not expecting to see the bad roads and the beaches which are not fully habitable.
In response, Mrs Smith said, “We have to clearly say what is open and what is not. I have to commend the government in terms of the same road network, they are trying their best.”
She further commented that 60 cents of every dollar comes from the financial services, while noting that is the reason they could not stop the operations of the biggest source of revenue for the VI.
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