Dept. Of Tourism Tells Partners USVI Is Open For Business

Department of Tourism (D.O.T.) Commissioner Beverly Nicholson-Doty continues to make audiences across the U.S. mainland and the globe aware that the territory is open for business, D.O.T. said Saturday.

Addressing a broad range of consumers and industry stakeholders over the past week in Atlanta, Chicago and New York, Mrs. Nicholson-Doty thanked partners for their support of the U.S. Virgin Islands during the ongoing recovery process and suggested that the best way to continue helping is to visit the territory, D.O.T. said.

Last weekend, the tourism commissioner addressed close to 200 delegates attending the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Region III Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, and thanked the media for keeping St. Croix, St. John and St. Thomas in the spotlight since last September’s storms, according to the release.

While in Atlanta, Mrs. Nicholson-Doty participated in a live on-air segment with Lynda Kinkade on CNN International’s CNN Newsroom, where she gave a comprehensive update on the U.S. Virgin Islands’ recovery.

“We have several hotels that have reopened… our yachting industry is absolutely glorious and we have wonderful villas. However, it is a journey… we will have more hotels opening at the end of the year and as we look towards the future we really feel that we’re going to have an even better tourism product,” Mrs. Nicholson-Doty told national and worldwide listeners tuned into the popular news program, according to the release.

During her in-market travels, the commissioner also met with journalists from the Chicago Sun-Times, the New York Daily News, and TravelPulse.

At a meeting with United Airlines in Chicago, Mrs. Nicholson-Doty, who was accompanied by David Mapp, executive director of the Virgin Islands Port Authority (V.I.P.A.), provided updates on the territory’s accommodations and tourism offerings. She reconfirmed that United resumed service to St. Thomas this weekend from Newark, New Jersey and Washington, D.C. The airline will recommence flights to St. Thomas from Houston later this month, and provide daily flights from Washington Dulles International Airport this summer between early June and late August, D.O.T. said.

Mrs. Nicholson-Doty and Mr. Mapp held similar talks with JetBlue Airways in New York, and attended an airline training program in the city. “As we bounce back, it’s critically important that we update our partners on the significant progress we are making, while taking the necessary steps to ensure that flights return as more accommodations become available,” the commissioner said.

“Power has been restored across the territory, our beaches and attractions have reopened, cruise lines and airlines have returned and a wide variety of accommodations are available even as our rebuilding and resiliency work continues,” she reported, adding, “USVI is Still Nice”.