USVI Commissioner of Tourism Joseph Boschulte reports successful airline talks at Routes Americas
[ORLANDO] – The U.S. Virgin Islands’ management of the COVID-19 public health crisis along with savvy marketing tactics are being credited for the confidence airlines have placed in adding and increasing service to both St. Croix and St. Thomas.
Speaking at the recent 2021 Routes Americas air service development event in Orlando, Commissioner of Tourism Joseph Boschulte said the multi-agency approach to curbing the spread of COVID-19 in the Territory has helped travelers and airline executives to select the U.S. Virgin Islands as a leading choice for leisure travel.
Strong Winter and Spring Season
“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 Commissioner Boschulte, who reported St. Croix and St. Thomas are registering about 10,000 and 30,000 weekly seats respectively this summer.
New Non-Stop Service
“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,” said Commissioner Boschulte, who disclosed that plans are in the works for new service to St. Croix from the mainland United States. “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,” the tourism executive disclosed.
Hotels Coming Back Online
Commissioner Boschulte said the response from airline executives in Orlando was exceptional, and as the Territory moves towards the post-vaccination period, he was confident of increased business as refreshed hotels such as Divi Carina Bay Beach Resort & Casino and Renaissance St. Croix Carambola Beach Resort & Spa on St. Croix come back online in the months ahead. He was also optimistic about the eventual return of the iconic Frenchman’s Reef Marriott Resort and Noni Beach, a St. Thomas Resort, Autograph Collection, to the accommodations inventory on St. Thomas.
