Tourism and regained freedoms
Business BVI sits down with David V. Johnson for an update on Oil Nut Bay The pandemic has been and accelerator for Oil Nut Bay, given that people globally are not waiting to purchase their dream home. In mid November, Business BVI caught up with the resort developer and chairman of Victor International Corporation David V. Johnson, for his insight on how ONB is responding to global changes in leisure travel driven by the pandemic. Here is his take.
How has the pandemic changed or is changing travel overall and specifically in the luxury segment? Oil Nut Bay is the perfect destination, because travellers are going to a single destination versus multiple vacation spots. A single destination makes travellers feel safe and offers quality time with their families and loved ones, where great leisure activities are available, reliable internet and a variety of villa sizes to accommodate all guests. The accelerator for Oil Nut Bay was the pandemic. People are not waiting to purchase their dream home. They realise time is precious and are acting at an earlier life stage than ever before. Also, in each neighbourhood, as we get down to two or three remaining lots, they do not want to miss out and therefore purchasing where they can build within the 5 years.
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What changes have ONB made in anticipation of, or in response to those changes? Oil Nut Bay’s master plan did not need to be changed. The original vision is perfect, which is 12 distinct neighbourhoods all of individual villas with different sizes and locations, whether Beach Villas or Wildside Villas. Today’s reality is that Oil Nut Bay has individual privacy and an opportunity for connection from world class amenities and state of the art infrastructure, including highest quality internet. The company mandated the vaccine for all employees and contractors to provide a safe environment. We partnered with NetJets to provide guests with the very best private air travel and have invested in multiple spec homes in our Marina Villa and Ocean Villa neighbourhoods. We are selling homes and lots virtually to both new buyers and existing owners who have purchased while building their new home. We have built an entire Marina Village, seven homes, a spa, boutique retail and our restaurant Nova, which is open to the public, all during the pandemic.
