Anyone who is familiar with the tourist season cycle couldn't help but notice the unusually low number of tourists on the beaches and in restaurants during February.
"It's really quiet," said long time resident, Jane Dowling.
Dowling, who lives at Cowpet Bay West noted, "There are hardly any tourists on the beach."
Cowpet Bay West adjoins the Elysian Beach Resort on St. Thomas's east end.
Beverly Nicholson, executive director of the St. Thomas-St. John Hotel and Tourism Association, said she hadn't gotten her numbers yet from member hotels, but her sense was the month started out strong, but the American Airlines slowdown mid-month put a damper on the rest of the month.
One restaurateur said she was down 30 percent from projections for February.
Wendy Tarapani, managing director of Diamonds International, said their business was definitely affected by the lack of hotel guests due to the American Airlines slowdown.
"The cruise ship business was affectedly slightly — the ships weren't coming in full — but the business we get from hotel guests was really down," she said.
Joe Aubain, executive director of the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce, said though there is no official tracking done he had heard from his members that they had been "slower than anticipated," especially the smaller businesses.
