US Virgin Islands tourism is in the midst of a very strong summer, according to the territory’s top tourism official. 

Buoyed by its strong management amid the pandemic, the USVI is seeing strong arrival numbers and continued demand for airlift from major carriers. 

“Despite the global travel lockdowns, we have had incredible winter and spring seasons, and we expect to experience one of the strongest summer months in the history of the U.S. Virgin Islands,” said US Virgin Islands Tourism Commissioner Joseph Boschulte. 

St Thomas and St Croix are seeing around 30,000 and 10,000 weekly air seats, respectively, this summer. 

“We have welcomed new nonstop service from places like Dallas, Miami, Orlando, New York City and Newark, New Jersey, and increased lift across several gateways,” the Commissioner said. 

Plans are also in the works for expanded airlift to St Croix. 

“We are also close to consummating a deal for new flights from Canada to St. Croix, and will continue to work on resuming seasonal flights from Denmark,” Boschulte said. 

The Commissioner who was speaking during the Routes Americas conference in Orlando, said he was confident business would continue to increase, particularly as hotels like the Divi Carina Bay ad Renaissance Carambola come back on line. 

“What has really been remarkable throughout the pandemic is the sharing economy – Airbnbs, condos and villas – which has kept our economy ticking as we continue to safely welcome thousands of travelers to our shores every day,” Boschulte said.”We feel good where the USVI is positioned and are heartened by the intelligence we are receiving about plans for continued growth during the 2021-2022 winter season.”

— CJ