Tourism is on the "fast track," according to Monique Hodge, acting Tourism commissioner.
Ads for the Virgin islands will begin appearing next month in People Magazine and Parade, the Sunday supplement which reaches 18,500,000 readers, according to Hodge.
And that isn't all. USA Today, the national newspaper, will run an ad starting Jan. 3, 2000. The paper subsequently will carry five ads running weekly in the publication's regional edition. They will start Jan.10 and run through Feb. 14.
This media campaign was made possible by a $500,000 appropriation from Gov. Charles W. Turnbull, whom she cites as the "prudent force behind appropriating the monies."
This sum represents a drop in the bucket compared to the $20 million ex-Tourism Commissioner Michael Bornn had requested.
However, Beverly Drew-Petrus, Tourism marketing director, is very enthusiastic.
"This new campaign, along with the hiring of our new advertising agency, Ogilvy & Mather, will put the USVI visibly back in the marketplace," she said.
