Ajit George.

In an exclusive interview on Monday with Mr. George, who is away from the Territory, he confirmed that he sent in his resignation letter to Premier and Minister of Tourism Honourable Ralph T. O’Neal on 7 May.

However, Virgin Islands News Online understands that Mr. George’s appointment was actually revoked by the Premier. It cannot be confirmed at this time which party received their letter first and as such, it is unclear whether he actually resigned or was fired.

In fact, when contacted, Chairman of the BVI Tourist Board, Myron Walwyn, said, “I don’t appoint and un-appoint members. That is a matter entirely for the Premier. The Premier advised me that Mr. George is no longer a member of the Board.”

“I resigned for several reasons,” Mr. George, who is originally from Kuwait but has spent close to 30 years living and working in the Virgin Islands, told this reporter. “I’m 56 and time becomes a most precious commodity in these times. My own life has moved into spending about a week in the BVI and the rest I spend outside on various business assignments.”

He said the larger issue though is that the Tourist Board is “handicapped” and does not have enough money to market the territory and he does not think he could add any more expertise to the Board with these limitations.

For the greater part of the last decade, the annual subvention from the Government to the BVI Tourist Board has been around $10m.

Mr. George, who also recently and suddenly resigned as Managing Director of Nail Bay Resort, said the problem is with that same “static” budget, the Board was unable to do more to market the Territory, since it was also straddled with liabilities from the past.

He reiterated however that his resignation was a question of balancing the precious time he has, since he was unable to attend regular Board meetings, which are held twice monthly.

The former Tourist Board member said he would continue to be the co-chair of the BVI Charitable Trust, which hosts the annual Winemakers Dinners, the proceeds from which go to local organizations. He revealed that instead of two dinners as in the two previous years, July and December, there will only be one series this year, in December.

Mr. George has been a member of the 12-member Board for the part year and a half. “I have enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun learning about all the progress we have and how much they contribute to the BVI. It is amazing what the Board accomplished with limited resources.”

The other members of the Board represent a full cross section of the tourism industry, including the hotel, charter yacht and taxi industry. The Permanent Secretary in the Premier’s Office is an ex-officio member.

The BVI Tourist Board has adopted a 3-pronged strategy for 2010/2011 that focuses on holding on to the Territory’s market share, revisiting traditional markets and improving products and services.

“We will forge ahead with our plans,” according to the BVITB chairman. “We appreciated the contribution made by Mr. George, but our plans will be unaffected by his departure.”