Aug 7, 2024 | Island News
In this recent op-ed article in the VI Consortium, the USVI Hotel & Tourism Association (USVIHTA) expresses its full support of the plans for essential and long-needed improvements to the airport experience on St. Thomas and St. Croix and provided information on the private/public partnership plans. We find the statistics provided by this op-ed piece to be very interesting. It indicates that the Cyril E. King Airport (CEKA) in St Thomas was built to process 600,000 arriving and departing passengers a year. In 2022, more than 1.65 million passengers used the terminal. Although the numbers were down in 2023, arrivals of 285,150 passengers through April 2024 are 26.2% higher year over year. The CEKA terminal was last updated in 1989. We are glad to see the HERA domestic lounge enhancements in 2021, but the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport (STX) terminal has not been updated since 2000 according to the article.
Living on St. Croix, we have noticed an increased number of visitors. Tourism is an important part of the local economy and the redevelopment and modernization of the USVI’s airports are good news for the territory. The airports are a gateway for travelers, both tourists and residents alike. We are excited at the prospect of enhancements that will better the travel experience for everyone. We recommend you to read the full article here.
May 30, 2023 | Island News
We are excited to see that tourism in the US Virgin Islands has remained very strong! The Caribbean Journal reported that ForwardKeys data shows the US Virgin Islands leading Caribbean destinations in international arrival growth, with a 22 percent increase over the first quarter of 2022. That’s ahead of destinations like St Maaten, Guadeloupe, Turks and Caicos and even the Dominican Republic. It also reported that since 2019, the numbers show an even more robust, sustainable jump: the US Virgin Islands has grown at a rate of 24 percent, the highest growth rate in the Caribbean. Read the full article here.
We have noticed that since beginning of the year, the island continues saw many many are visiting for the first time through the increase of cruise ship arrivals and stayover visitors from the mainland. It doesn’t surprise us that reports show in St. Croix, cruise traffic has increased by 150 percent! While the cruise ship season has ended here on St. Croix now that we are approaching June, our island arrivals by air are at an all-time high with visitors from all over the mainland coming to our shores for a taste of the island’s captivating energy.
We are so happy to also see the U.S. Virgin Islands has received top honors from several prestigious media companies for 2023. Porthole Cruise and Travel Magazine, Yahoo! Life and Frommers all underscored the territory for its ease of travel and new developments. Condé Nast Traveler highlighted the USVI as one of the Best Places to Go in 2023; Travel + Leisure ranked USVI as one of the 50 best destinations to travel to thanks to our beach vibes. We’re thrilled to share St. Croix with new and returning visitors in 2023.
Photo from The Caribbean Journal
