A cruise operator who has been in the tourism business for years, was the top winner at the tourism awards.

Jimmy O’Connor of Jesse James Cruises was the top winner out of 54 finalists in the Belco Visitor Industry Partnership (VIP) Annual Excellence Awards.

Mr. O’Connor named the cruises after his parents — one Jesse and one James — and started the business in 1989 and was chosen as the overall winner due to his work with students every summer as well as training many of them to enter the cruise business later.

The VIP Awards have 18 categories and for each category there are three nominations and one overall winner.

Mr. O’Connor was in the running with Gita Blakeney-Saltus, a singer, and Alfred Conrad who has been a chef for 30 years.

As top winner of the Belco VIP awards, Mr. O’Connor was named the Ministry of Tourism’s Best of the Best Awardee on Friday night, which was accompanied by a $20,000 Money Market Account from the Bank of Butterfield Bank.

The Bank of Butterfield has been donating the account as part of the Annual Banquet held at the Fairmont Southampton for the past six years.