Tourism Commissioner nominee Rafael Jackson said Thursday the territory erred in judgment when it decided to eliminate marketing efforts in Puerto Rico. Addressing the weekly luncheon meeting of the Rotary Club of St. Thomas, Jackson promised to restore cuts made, and protect the Virgin Islands share of the Caribbean tourism generated by Puerto Rico's many travelers.
"Puerto Rico is an important market especially during the summer months," he said, adding, "We will start some initiatives there next month."
Jackson told Rotarians he plans to do co-op advertising with American Eagle in two San Juan daily papers, the San Juan Star and El Nuevo Dia. "We are going to reintroduce an initiative in Puerto Rico in an attempt to lose the share that we lost," he said. "I simply could not understand the reasoning behind the decision to close the Puerto Rico office, its beyond me," he added.
Jackson also disclosed that the territory's 800 telephone number, 1-800-372-USVI, is producing more inquiries about vacations here than the staff can handle. In fact, the Virgin Islands may be losing potential business. He explained that the problem is the time difference between east coast and west coast answering services, which has resulted in a gap in the department's ability to respond with live operators.
Jackson said he is not certain how his superiors will accept it, but he is recommending that the Tourism commissioner no longer serve as chairman of the Port Authority's governing board and the Industrial Development Commission. It is his belief that "the job is big enough without the added responsibilities of major chairmanships. "
