Business

WICO Gives Optimistic Outlook For Cruise Tourism

ST. THOMAS -- The West Indian Company Limited (WICO) said early Monday it is confident that cruise tourism overall will continue to play a significant role in the overall tourism revenue projections in the territory. St. Thomas continues to be one of the most requested ports of call by passengers in the Eastern Caribbean, WICO said. This cruise year, WICO will again see new and larger ships making port calls in St. Thomas including the mega-ship Harmony of the Seas, Koningsdam and luxury small vessels such as the Aida Vita and Viking Star. Earlier this year, in January and again in April, WICO entered into preferred berthing agreements with the Carnival Corporation and Norwegian Caribbean Lines respectively. Concurrently, the Virgin Islands Port Authority (VIPA) entered into a similar berthing agreement with Royal Caribbean International. Additionally, both WICO and VIPA entered into a single tariff agreement. The current tariff for all ships entering the Port of Charlotte Amalie is no...