The Vanuatu delegation with the Royal Caribbean Group team at the company’s

 headquarters, Miami, 28 September 2026 — from left: Ms. Helen O’Connell, Ms. Kellyanne,

Mr. Jay Schneider, the Honorable Minister of Trade and Commerce, 

Mr. Paul Pio, Director of the Department of Tourism, and Mr. Russell Benford.

Monday, 05th October 2026, Port-Vila, Vanuatu: The Minister of Trade and Commerce, the Honorable Robson Iavro, has returned from Miami, Florida, where he led a Vanuatu delegation for high-level meetings with the senior leadership of Royal Caribbean Group at the company’s global headquarters.
This was the Minister’s first official visit to the United States since taking up office, and the first time a Minister of Trade and Commerce has met the company’s leadership at its headquarters. The Minister was accompanied by the Director General of the Ministry of Trade and Commerce, Mr. Noah Patrick Kouback, and the Director of the Department of Tourism, Mr. Paul Pio.
The delegation was received by Mr. Michael Bayley, President and Chief Executive Officer of Royal Caribbean. The company was further represented by Mr. Jay Schneider, Senior Vice President and Chief Product Innovation Officer, Mr. Russell Benford, Vice President Government Relations Americas, Ms. Stacy Lubin, Director Global Environmental Programs, and Ms. Helen O’Connell, Associate Vice President Community Engagement.
The engagement was initially scheduled to be led by the Prime Minister, the Honorable Jotham Napat, as part of his official travel to the United States for the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly and onward to Miami. Following the MV Matui tragedy the Prime Minister withdrew from the visit in order to remain with the families and the communities affected, and authorised the Minister of Trade and Commerce to travel on his behalf.
The visit followed the bilateral meeting held between the Minister and Royal Caribbean International in the margins of the 2026 Australian Cruise Association Conference in Brisbane in September, and carried that discussion forward to the level at which the company’s regional deployment and investment decisions are made.

Royal Beach Club Lelepa
Both sides agreed that the groundbreaking ceremony for the Royal Beach Club Lelepa will be held in Vanuatu in November 2026, on Lelepa Island in North Efate. The date has been set to fall during the second ordinary session of Parliament in November so that Members of Parliament are able to attend, alongside the communities of Lelepa, the Government and the company’s senior executives.
The Royal Beach Club Lelepa is Royal Caribbean’s first exclusive destination in the Southern Hemisphere, the only one of its kind in the Pacific, and the single largest tourism investment in Vanuatu’s history, valued at VT 6.5 billion and funded by Royal Caribbean Group. The destination is being developed on Lelepa Island as a day-visit beach club for guests arriving by ship, with an arrivals area and a Mamas Market, beach precincts on the eastern and western shores of the site, food and beverage outlets, a kids’ playground, water activity rentals, a nature trail and supporting back-of-house facilities including staff housing and utilities. Construction is under way and the first ship call is scheduled for the 2027 season.
The project is expected to require a workforce of between 300 and 400 during its development, with more than 150 staff to be recruited to operate the destination on a rotation basis and a further team living on site full time. Royal Caribbean confirmed that it intends to source as much as it can locally, and will send a food and beverage supply chain specialist to Vanuatu to work with local producers and establish what can be supplied on the ground. The company also set out its approach to community engagement, which includes training and workshops for local entrepreneurs on standards, hospitality and the requirements of the cruise sector.

A partnership of long standing
Royal Caribbean is among the largest cruise operators serving Vanuatu and has been a partner of the destination for many years, carrying a substantial share of the cruise visitors who arrive each season. Discussions in Miami also covered the matters that remain outstanding between the company and the Government, which the Minister undertook to progress with the relevant ministries on his return.
The Minister further invited Royal Caribbean to consider opportunities in Vanuatu beyond Lelepa, including on Espiritu Santo, and extended an invitation to the company’s senior executives to visit the island.

“Royal Caribbean has chosen Vanuatu for its first exclusive destination in this half of the world, and that is a decision our country should be proud of. Going to Miami allowed us to sit down with the people who make those decisions, to hear directly what they need from us and to be equally clear about what Vanuatu expects in return. The groundbreaking in November will be a milestone for our country, and the Government is committed to making sure that the jobs, the supply opportunities and the benefits of this project reach the people of Lelepa and the wider economy,” said the Honorable Robson Iavro, Minister of Trade and Commerce.
“This visit moved the relationship forward at the right level. The timelines are confirmed, the groundbreaking is agreed and the company has made clear that its interest in Vanuatu does not stop at Lelepa. Our task now is to make sure that our operators, our producers and our communities are ready when the first ship arrives,” said Mr. Paul Pio, Director of the Department of Tourism.
ENDS