USVI Public Records

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U. S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism 2021 Fall Revenue Estimating Conference August 10, 2021 1 AIR VISITOR ARRIVALS Jan-May 2019 Jan-May 2020 Jan-May 2021 292,991 187,751 332,654 77% over 2020 2 13% over 2019 AVERAGE WEEKLY-AIR CAPACITY SUMMER 2021 St. Croix St. Thomas/St. John Flights=235+ Flights=380+ St. Croix St. Thomas/St. John Seats=9,500+ Seats=30,000+ 3 AIRLIFT Nonstop flights to St. Croix from: • Atlanta (ATL) • Charlotte (CLT) • Fort Lauderdale (FLL) • Miami (MIA) • Puerto Rico (SJU) Nonstop flights to St. Thomas from: • Atlanta (ATL) • Boston (BOS) • Charlotte (CLT) • Chicago O’Hare (ORD) • Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) • Fort Lauderdale (FLL) • Houston (IAH) • Miami (MIA) • Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) • Orlando (MCO) • Philadelphia (PHL) • Puerto Rico (SJU) • New York (JFK) • Newark (EWR) • Washington, D.C. (IAD) 5 6 AIRLIFT Inbound air arrivals ahead of pre-2017 hurricane levels • Restored and surpassed total air arrivals to the Territory to pre-hurricane levels. St. Thomas seat capacity is up by about 60 percent (winter) and 70 percent (summer) over FY 2020. St. Croix seat capacity increased by 40 percent (winter) and 10 percent (summer). • St. Thomas experienced increased new or resumed service from American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, Spirit Airlines, JetBlue Airways and Sun Country Airlines • St. Croix experienced increased service from both American and Delta • Incoming flights are arriving full • Traditional seasonality has been disrupted and summer 2021 air arrival numbers rival or surpass traditional winter numbers • Regional airlift significantly reduced due to the pandemic 7 TRAVEL SCREENING PORTAL ●Every traveler aged five or older, including vaccinated travelers and U.S. citizens, who enters the USVI is required to use the Travel Screening Portal (TSP) and receive clearance to travel ●Beginning in July 2021, travelers who were vaccinated in the USVI and considered “fully vaccinated” may be exempt from submitting an acceptable COVID-19 test result for travel from the U.S. mainland and/or from another U.S. Territory, if the Official Vaccination Record can be successfully verified through the USVI Department of Health’s database ●Since July 2020, the TSP has processed more than 780,000 submissions ●97.5% Air Arrivals ●2.5% Marine Arrivals EXISTING ACCOMMODATIONS St. Croix St. Thomas / St. John # of Units Traditional 800 1,800 2,600 Villas 300 600 900 Sharing Accommodations 2,200 Charter Yachts 200+ 200+ Total 1,100 2,600 5,900 9 ADDITIONAL ACCOMMODATIONS Name St. Croix St. John St. Thomas Total Schedule Divi 197 197 Oct. 2021 Frenchman’s Reef Marriott 384 384 2022 Noni Beach 94 94 2022 # of Units 197 478 675 10 HOTEL TAX REVENUE COLLECTIONS • Fiscal Year 2021 up 74% compared to Fiscal Year 2020 YTD • FY 2021 Total Estimated $37M • FY 2022 is expected to be on par with FY 2021, depending on the state of the pandemic 74 % 11 STR DATA 12 CRUISE STATS Cruise Passenger Arrivals Jan- Dec 2020 = 442,027 St. Thomas/St. John Cruise Schedule (Crown Bay) – 76 anticipated cruise calls through December 2021 St. Thomas/St. John Cruise Schedule (WICO) – 134 anticipated cruise calls through December 2021 St. Croix Cruise Schedule – 27 anticipated cruise calls through December 2021 13 FY 2022 ESTIMATED TOURISM OPERATIONAL BUDGET 14 To support the initiatives and fiduciary responsibilities of the Department of Tourism, the Fiscal Year 2022 budget recommendation is $25,715,632. July – December 2021 will have an additional $4M budgeted for marketing initiatives to ensure the USVI defends its current lead market position and investment in building brand awareness in the overnight and marine markets. Thank You Questions? 15