The British Virgin Islands attracted strong interest among sailing enthusiasts attending day one of the Grand Pavois boat show which opened in La Rochelle, France on Wednesday September 7th.

The BVI is among the nine OECS Member Countries which is mounting a joint presentation at the September 7th to 12th boat show under the theme " Many Islands, One Sea". The Grand Pavois boat show, one of the three biggest in the world, attracts more than 100,000 visitors, many of whom are yachters seeking new destinations.

The BVI's five member delegation said visitors to their booth wanted specific information about sailing in the islands. The BVI has the Eastern Caribbean's biggest yachting destination, with more than US600 million in assets to support the sector. Other OECS Member States hope to learn from the BVI's yachting success story.

The BVI delegates say visitors also requested information about about on-shore accomodation and activities.

The BVI's delegation included marine expert John Shirley representing the BVI Chamber of Commerce; Josline Joseph of the yacht charter company Sunsail; Christine Taylor, regional manager BVI Tourist Board; Myrvina Jeria of the BVI Tourist Board; and Yoyi Minaya, multilinguist with the BVI Tourist Board.