There are some things that should never be put on the negotiating table.
The Baths is one of them.
For days, Virgin Islanders watched in disbelief as it emerged that the National Parks Trust of the Virgin Islands was entertaining discussions that could have given a private luxury cruise operator reserved — and effectively exclusive — access to The Baths and Devil’s Bay during selected morning hours.
The idea was simple enough.
A luxury liner would bring fewer than 150 passengers.
Those passengers would have a designated window to experience one of the most iconic natural attractions in the world.
And during that window, the people of the Virgin Islands could potentially be shut out of their own national parks.
That was the plan.
And then the people found out.
All hell broke loose.
What followed was a wave of public outrage that grew from questions into criticism, from criticism into organised resistance, and from resistance into a petition now carrying more than 2,000 signatures.
Former Director of Tourism and outspoken community advocate Sharon Flax-Brutus became one of the key voices pushing the issue into the national spotlight, demanding transparency and challenging the very principle of granting private commercial interests special access to public national treasures.
Then came Thursday’s public meeting.
Nearly 200 people logged on.
And the message was unmistakable.
The Baths are not for sale.
Now, after the public revolt, Deputy Premier and Minister responsible for the National Parks Trust, Hon. Julian Fraser, has stepped in and directed the NPTVI Board to refrain from entering into any agreement until the matter has been fully vetted to the satisfaction of the Government.
In other words:
The brakes have been applied.
But the question the public should now be asking is not simply whether the deal is dead.
The bigger question is:
How did we get this far in the first place?
THE LUXURY LINER PLAN
The controversy began when the NPTVI disclosed that it was in discussions with a luxury cruise operator about providing reserved access to The Baths and Devil’s Bay during selected mornings in the peak tourism season.
The initial proposal reportedly contemplated access for fewer than 150 visitors between approximately 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon.
The arrangement was presented within the context of visitor management, conservation and the need for additional revenue.
But the public saw something much more troubling.
A private company was being considered for access that the ordinary public could be denied during the same period.
And that is where the proposal ran into a wall.
Because The Baths is not a private resort.
Devil’s Bay is not a corporate amenity.
These are national parks.
They belong to the Virgin Islands.
And the people of the Virgin Islands have spent generations fighting to protect their access to the land, beaches and natural heritage that make this Territory what it is.
So when the public heard that a private luxury operator might be given special access, the reaction was immediate.
Not here. Not this. Not The Baths.
WHO THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA?
This is the question that refuses to go away.
Who believed that the people of the Virgin Islands would quietly accept being excluded from The Baths — even temporarily — to accommodate the paying guests of a luxury cruise line?
Who thought the distinction between “exclusive access,” “private access,” “reserved access” or any other carefully chosen wording would make the fundamental issue disappear?
Call it whatever you want.
If the public cannot enter because a private commercial entity has been given priority, then the public is being excluded.
And the people understood that immediately.
Attorney Paul Webster, KC, put the issue bluntly during Thursday’s public meeting.
“It does not matter what you say or dress up, the fact is that the people of the Virgin Islands are being denied access to these National Parks at the times that you have specified,” he argued.
Exactly.
The argument was never really about whether the closure would last three hours, two hours or thirty minutes.
The argument was about whether the principle should ever be accepted.
Can public access be sold?
And if the answer is yes, then where does it stop?
Today, it is The Baths.
Tomorrow, is it another beach?
Another national park?
Another piece of public land?
Once Government opens the door to the idea that exclusive access can be purchased, it becomes much harder to close that door again.
That is the precedent the public is fighting against.
SHARON FLAX-BRUTUS AND THE FIGHT THAT FORCED A NATIONAL CONVERSATION
This issue might never have reached the level of public scrutiny it did without people willing to ask difficult questions and refuse to let the matter disappear quietly.
Sharon Flax-Brutus was among those voices.
The former Director of Tourism and community advocate challenged the proposal, raised concerns about transparency and helped bring public attention to what was being contemplated.
Her involvement helped transform the issue from a discussion involving the NPTVI and a private operator into a wider national debate about public rights and Government accountability.
And the people responded.
A petition opposing exclusive access rapidly gained support and has now surpassed 2,000 signatures.
That is no small matter in a Territory the size of the Virgin Islands.
It represents a significant number of people standing up and saying that some lines should not be crossed.
The petition became more than a list of names.
It became a public warning.
The people are watching.
And this time, they are not prepared to find out about decisions affecting their national heritage after the deal has already been signed.
FRASER STEPS IN
During Thursday’s public meeting, NPTVI Board Chairman Clyde Lettsome revealed that Deputy Premier Julian Fraser had formally intervened.
The disclosure came after Ninth District Representative and Minister for Health and Social Development, Hon. Vincent Wheatley, questioned why discussions surrounding the proposal were continuing despite the clear anxiety and opposition being expressed by Virgin Gorda residents.
“The issue we have is with exclusive access. No one that I have spoken to has agreed to exclusive access,” Wheatley said.
Wheatley noted that he faced a similar issue in 2021 when he was responsible for the National Parks Trust.
He opposed exclusive access then.
He said he opposes it now.
Lettsome then revealed that Fraser had written to him on August 19, directing the Board not to enter into any agreement until the matter had been fully reviewed.
“Accordingly, I must direct that the Board refrain from entering into any agreement until the matter is fully vetted to the satisfaction of the Government,” Fraser wrote.
Lettsome said the NPTVI complied with the directive and paused negotiations with the cruise operators.
For the public, it was a major victory.
But it was also a reminder of something important:
The public did not get here by staying silent.
The people pushed.
The petition grew.
Advocates spoke.
Questions were asked.
The pressure mounted.
And Government was forced to respond.
‘WE HAVE NO PRIVATE ACCESS’
Perhaps the clearest indication of where the issue now stands came from NPTVI Board Chairman Clyde Lettsome himself.
“I know what the end result of this is supposed to be, is that we have no private access,” he said.
If that is indeed the end result, then the people have made their position known.
There is a difference between protecting The Baths and privatising access to it.
If the environment needs rest periods, then create conservation closures.
If visitor numbers need to be controlled, then manage them.
If overcrowding is becoming a problem, then develop a proper carrying-capacity system.
But conservation cannot become a convenient cover for commercial exclusion.
Do not tell the people the park is closed for conservation while another group is being allowed inside because they paid for the privilege.
That is not conservation.
That is exclusivity.
And the public has rejected it.
IF THE NPTVI NEEDS MONEY, CHARGE THE VISITORS MORE
The National Parks Trust has legitimate financial needs.
The Baths and Devil’s Bay require maintenance.
They require staffing.
They require environmental protection.
They require infrastructure.
They require money.
No serious person is disputing that.
But the answer should not be to rent out public access.
One of the strongest alternatives raised during the public meeting was straightforward:
Increase the fees.
The people who travel from around the world to experience The Baths are already paying for an extraordinary tourism experience.
There is nothing unreasonable about asking visitors to contribute more toward preserving the very attraction they have travelled thousands of miles to see.
If the current fees are insufficient, review them.
If maintenance costs are rising, adjust them.
If conservation requires greater investment, make the case to the public and to visitors.
But do not make Virgin Islanders feel like strangers at the gate of their own national treasure.
Charge more if necessary. Just do not sell the people’s access.
THIS IS BIGGER THAN ONE CRUISE LINE
The real significance of this controversy is not whether one luxury operator ultimately receives an agreement.
This is bigger than one ship.
Bigger than one company.
Bigger than one three-hour window.
This is about how decisions are made.
It is about whether public assets can be negotiated behind closed doors and then presented to the people once discussions are already advanced.
It is about whether Government understands that it is the custodian of public assets — not the owner with the authority to trade away public rights.
And it is about whether Virgin Islanders will continue to have a meaningful voice in what happens to the places that define their home.
The response to this proposal has given Government a clear answer.
Do not take the people for granted.
Do not assume that because something is wrapped in the language of tourism, revenue or development, the public will automatically accept it.
Not when it involves The Baths.
Not when it involves Devil’s Bay.
Not when it involves the people’s right to access their own national parks.
THE PEOPLE SPOKE. GOVERNMENT HAD TO LISTEN.
This was public pressure at work.
A proposal emerged.
The people asked questions.
Advocates sounded the alarm.
Sharon Flax-Brutus and others pushed the issue into the public square.
The petition gathered more than 2,000 signatures.
Nearly 200 people turned out for a public meeting.
Government intervened.
And negotiations were halted.
That sequence matters.
Because it proves something many people often forget:
When the people speak loudly enough, Government has no choice but to listen.
For now, the luxury liner negotiations have been paused.
But the public will be watching what happens next.
Closely.
Because this battle has now drawn a line in the sand.
The people are not against tourism.
They are not against conservation.
They are not against the National Parks Trust earning the money it needs to protect the Territory’s natural assets.
They are against one thing:
The idea that public access can be bought.
And the message, after this public uprising, could not be any clearer.
THE BATHS IS NOT FOR SALE.
Not for three hours.
Not for a luxury liner.
Not behind closed doors.
Not for any price.