usvi-on-line
Sure didn't feel less crowded to me!
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sailorgirl
- Posts: 1644
- Joined: Mon Oct 30, 2006 3:03 pm
Sure didn't feel less crowded to me!
An interesting article:
Continuing a slump that has dragged on since March 2006, the number of air travelers landing in the Virgin Islands declined by 3.5 percent in May, the V.I. Bureau of Economic Research has reported.
The territory also posted an 8 percent decline in cruise passengers that month, down from nearly 125,000 passengers in May 2006 to 114,000 this year. St. Thomas-St. John saw 39 cruise ship calls, three less than the previous year. No ships called on St. Croix during May in either year.
A sluggish U.S. economy may be contributing to the downturn, bureau executive director Lauritz Mills said. Along with high air fares and gas prices, "We see interest rates increasing. We see a slump in the housing market," she said. "People are cutting back on travel, perhaps."
Scheduled major maintenance at the HOVENSA refinery on St. Croix likely contributed to a pair of May statistics that at first glance seem contradictory: gains in hotel occupancy rates despite losses in air arrival numbers.
Specialized workers hired from off-island for the project contributed to high occupancy average of nearly 75 percent there in May, up from 52 percent the previous May.
The maintenance turnaround also contributed to the raised 69.6 average hotel occupancy rate territorywide, a 7.9 percentage-point increase over May 2006.
"St. Croix was basically closed out," V.I. Hotel and Tourism Association president Rik Blyth said. "They had hardly any air arrivals in May and June. They had great occupancy, but it wasn't tourism occupancy."
The "90th Anniversary Transfer Day" summer promotional package developed by the hotel association and the V.I. Tourism Department did not appear to have a significant effect on May's tourism numbers, Mills said.
"With this package, we're not seeing the results, at least not yet," Mills said. She added that preliminary numbers for June show air arrivals up 2.8 percent, however.
Many hotels are reporting good occupancy rates in May and through the summer, Blyth said. He attributed much of that off-season success to the Transfer Day offer, which grants hotel guests a fifth night free, along with passes to a bundle of local activities and attractions.
More than 1,000 packages have been booked to date, leading the promotion's organizers to extend it beyond the original August and through to October, offering a fourth night free, Blyth said.
"We're trending upwards in May. All the hotels are reporting one of the best summers ever and the 90th anniversary package is the hands-down most successful summer marketing program ever," he said.
The year-to-date tourism trend has been more sobering. From January through May, the territory recorded a 1.4 percent decline in overall visitor arrivals, to 1.24 million. A 4.9 percent decrease in air arrivals contributed, while cruise arrivals were stagnant at around 920,000.
The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative put in place this year, which requires U.S. citizens to have passports when returning from most Caribbean destinations, was expected to give the territory a boost among American tourists who lack the international travel documents.
Despite touting its "No Passports Required" status, the USVI actually posted losses among U.S. travelers this year, as have most other Caribbean islands.
During the first five months of 2007, the number of U.S. hotel guests declined 5.6 percent compared with the same period last year: from more than 336,000 to around 317,000. The major markets of Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City and Washington, D.C., all sent fewer travelers to the islands in those five months overall, with only Miami reporting a modest 300-person increase.
Although some reports have suggested that Americans may have satiated their appetite for the Caribbean and are seeking more exotic destinations, the U.S. economy's sluggishness may be the more critical factor currently, Mills said.
Younger travelers' preferences may not be clear yet, Blythe said, but the territory does have a following of loyal repeat visitors.
Longer range, however, tourism leaders worry that passport requirements may hurt the Caribbean in another way, Blyth said - by increasing Americans' ability to travel internationally with ease.
"From an overall regional level, the conversation has been more of a concern that once Americans get passports, it opens the world," he said. "People will start to look at that."
- Contact Lynn Freehill at 774-8772 ext. 311 or e-mail lfreehill@dailynews.vi.
Continuing a slump that has dragged on since March 2006, the number of air travelers landing in the Virgin Islands declined by 3.5 percent in May, the V.I. Bureau of Economic Research has reported.
The territory also posted an 8 percent decline in cruise passengers that month, down from nearly 125,000 passengers in May 2006 to 114,000 this year. St. Thomas-St. John saw 39 cruise ship calls, three less than the previous year. No ships called on St. Croix during May in either year.
A sluggish U.S. economy may be contributing to the downturn, bureau executive director Lauritz Mills said. Along with high air fares and gas prices, "We see interest rates increasing. We see a slump in the housing market," she said. "People are cutting back on travel, perhaps."
Scheduled major maintenance at the HOVENSA refinery on St. Croix likely contributed to a pair of May statistics that at first glance seem contradictory: gains in hotel occupancy rates despite losses in air arrival numbers.
Specialized workers hired from off-island for the project contributed to high occupancy average of nearly 75 percent there in May, up from 52 percent the previous May.
The maintenance turnaround also contributed to the raised 69.6 average hotel occupancy rate territorywide, a 7.9 percentage-point increase over May 2006.
"St. Croix was basically closed out," V.I. Hotel and Tourism Association president Rik Blyth said. "They had hardly any air arrivals in May and June. They had great occupancy, but it wasn't tourism occupancy."
The "90th Anniversary Transfer Day" summer promotional package developed by the hotel association and the V.I. Tourism Department did not appear to have a significant effect on May's tourism numbers, Mills said.
"With this package, we're not seeing the results, at least not yet," Mills said. She added that preliminary numbers for June show air arrivals up 2.8 percent, however.
Many hotels are reporting good occupancy rates in May and through the summer, Blyth said. He attributed much of that off-season success to the Transfer Day offer, which grants hotel guests a fifth night free, along with passes to a bundle of local activities and attractions.
More than 1,000 packages have been booked to date, leading the promotion's organizers to extend it beyond the original August and through to October, offering a fourth night free, Blyth said.
"We're trending upwards in May. All the hotels are reporting one of the best summers ever and the 90th anniversary package is the hands-down most successful summer marketing program ever," he said.
The year-to-date tourism trend has been more sobering. From January through May, the territory recorded a 1.4 percent decline in overall visitor arrivals, to 1.24 million. A 4.9 percent decrease in air arrivals contributed, while cruise arrivals were stagnant at around 920,000.
The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative put in place this year, which requires U.S. citizens to have passports when returning from most Caribbean destinations, was expected to give the territory a boost among American tourists who lack the international travel documents.
Despite touting its "No Passports Required" status, the USVI actually posted losses among U.S. travelers this year, as have most other Caribbean islands.
During the first five months of 2007, the number of U.S. hotel guests declined 5.6 percent compared with the same period last year: from more than 336,000 to around 317,000. The major markets of Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City and Washington, D.C., all sent fewer travelers to the islands in those five months overall, with only Miami reporting a modest 300-person increase.
Although some reports have suggested that Americans may have satiated their appetite for the Caribbean and are seeking more exotic destinations, the U.S. economy's sluggishness may be the more critical factor currently, Mills said.
Younger travelers' preferences may not be clear yet, Blythe said, but the territory does have a following of loyal repeat visitors.
Longer range, however, tourism leaders worry that passport requirements may hurt the Caribbean in another way, Blyth said - by increasing Americans' ability to travel internationally with ease.
"From an overall regional level, the conversation has been more of a concern that once Americans get passports, it opens the world," he said. "People will start to look at that."
- Contact Lynn Freehill at 774-8772 ext. 311 or e-mail lfreehill@dailynews.vi.
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StJohnRuth
- Posts: 1989
- Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2006 8:42 pm
- Location: St. John, VI
I don't understand all this statistic stuff. However, the trend I have noticed is that people are staying here longer. Instead of 5-7 days, a lot of people are staying 10-12 days, especially during the peak Wedding Season (May and June).
This may be a dumb question, but if people are staying longer and this study is counting the people that "land", would it not make it seem like business was slower?
-Ruth
This may be a dumb question, but if people are staying longer and this study is counting the people that "land", would it not make it seem like business was slower?
-Ruth
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sailorgirl
- Posts: 1644
- Joined: Mon Oct 30, 2006 3:03 pm
Excellent pointStJohnRuth wrote:I don't understand all this statistic stuff. However, the trend I have noticed is that people are staying here longer. Instead of 5-7 days, a lot of people are staying 10-12 days, especially during the peak Wedding Season (May and June).
This may be a dumb question, but if people are staying longer and this study is counting the people that "land", would it not make it seem like business was slower?
-Ruth