The US Virgin Islands witnessing “strong” tourism numbers in the middle of COVID, says recent report

Published on : Friday, March 19, 2021

The recent reporting from the US Virgin Islands says “strong” tourism numbers in the middle of COVID, considerably performing much better than the rest of the Caribbean.

In a situation where deep declines in tourism arrival numbers has become an accepted fact, the USVI has handled the pandemic storm quite well, says Joseph Boschulte, the US Virgin Islands Tourism Commissioner.

In 2020, the US Virgin Islands welcomed 415,749 air arrivals; as that was a 35.1 percent less compared to 2019. It was a far smaller slump than the 65.5 percent decline in visitor number the wider Caribbean witnessed in 2020.

To quote Boschulte, “We are incredibly thankful for the leadership of Governor Albert Bryan Jr, Lieutenant Governor Tregenza Roach, Commissioner of Health Justa Encarnacion and the countless Virgin Islanders – from our policy makers and the business community to grassroots organizers – for their thoughtful actions, which continue to protect precious lives as well as livelihoods.”

So, the USVI’s hotel occupancy slumped by 29.1 percent, in comparison to a 52.5 percent drop for the wider region. Average daily rates increased by 43.3 percent compared with a 2.4 percent rise across the Caribbean.

“We must continue to press on and deliver results for our industry and for every Virgin Islander,” the tourism commissioner stated, “but not at the expense of relaxing adherence to public health and safety protocols such as wearing face masks and maintaining physical distance.”

The USVI has witnessed huge rise in airlift in recent months, where airlines have adding additional flight services to keep up robust visitor arrivals. “While we are pleased with our performance to date, we recognize that we have our work cut out for us,” Boschulte said.

The USVI has started a vaccination push. Almost 20,000 people in the territory have by now received the first dose of the vaccine. By July 1, 2021, the target is to have at least half the population, or 50,000 people, vaccinated, according to USVI Governor Bryan.