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HomeNewsArchivesWICO HEAD: INVEST IN ST. CROIX, NOT CROWN BAY

WICO HEAD: INVEST IN ST. CROIX, NOT CROWN BAY

Nov. 15, 2001 – The president and chief executive officer of the West Indian Co. Ltd., Edward Thomas, suggested Wednesday that a Virgin Islands Port Authority investment in St. Croix would be more advisable than developing the Crown Bay marine port into a shopping center.
Thomas, speaking on tourism issues to the Advertising Club of the Virgin Islands, noted what he considered drawbacks to the visitor experience on St. Thomas if the shopping district were to be expanded, as opposed to benefits of investing in a cruise ship home port in St. Croix.
"St. Thomas does not need any more tourism-related retail outlets," Thomas said.
He noted that if such a plan does materialize, Main Street, the traditional shopping mecca, will be the big loser since it will be bounded on both ends "by large malls selling the identical merchandise it sells."
Thomas said the Port Authority has a $300,000 federal grant to study what is needed to jump-start the economy on St. Croix. Thomas said he expected that a major recommendation of that study will be the establishment of a cruise home port on St. Croix to coincide with soon-to-be-completed airport improvements.
Thomas also offered a proposal concerning the controversial matter of a public-private Virgin Islands Tourism Authority. He suggested that the private element be an advisory panel, and the authority be allowed to draw from new revenue sources for tourism promotion.
"I propose to the 24th Legislature that as one of its first items of business, a Tourism Authority be established," he said. "The subsidiary agencies of the authority should include the Public Finance Authority, VIPA and the Tourism Department. The directors should be the chairman of the PFA, WICO, VIPA and the commissioner of Tourism."
Thomas said the mission of the authority would include:
– Determining how much of WICO's annual dividend to the PFA should be used for tourism promotion.
– Determining what tourism infrastructure projects the Port Authority will construct.;
– Determining how hotel occupancy funds are spent.
"These policy decisions will then be communicated to the respective agencies under the authority's umbrella for their boards to take appropriate action," he said.
Thomas said he is not convinced that the territory is taking maximum advantage of its success in attracting cruise ships to St. Thomas. Despite some concerns about the congestion caused by ever-increasing numbers of visitors, he sees the potential for filling hotel rooms with many of those same passengers.
"Tourism planners and executives need to stop pitting one sector against the other and feed upon each other instead," he said. He noted that not a single dollar is spent to advertise for the 1.7 million cruise passengers, "yet this is a perfect market for cultivating overnight guests."
While the demographics of the cruise sector have changed, Thomas said he finds hoteliers here are continuing in their old paradigms. "Someone needs to tell them that their competition is Branson, Missouri, and the Disney properties which host 6 million persons annually. The cruise lines have yet to carry 10 million passengers annually," he noted.
Planning the economy around tourism, the WICO president suggested, is consistent with all the trends in a region where tourism has proven its value.
"Tourism for all the Caribbean islands is growing to a regional economic mainstay. Tourism, including cruise tourism, has proven to be a particularly reliable source of revenue even during difficult economic periods," he said.
Thomas pointed out that in the Caribbean region, cruise tourism continues to account for 50 percent of the total capacity and delivers a significant increase in passenger numbers to the region each year. As a consequence, he said, the economic impact of cruise tourism on the islands of the region becomes even more important.
"A particular item of significance to the Caribbean is a passenger-driven shift from making the ship the destination itself to adding more ports on an itinerary," Thomas said.
Given the inclination of some Virgin Islands lawmakers to revisit the issue of an increase in the cruise passenger head tax, Thomas offered information on Panama's effort to attract more cruise visits, saying that as the Virgin Islands considers charging more for visits here, that country, which also has a Caribbean coast, is offering to pay for visits. He noted that at a conference a month ago, the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association spoke of a plan by the government of Panama to offer an incentive that solidifies its commitment to the cruise industry and to tourism.
"Under this agreement, the government will pay an incentive of $2.50 to $12 per passenger calls at any Panamanian port," Thomas said. "The incentive increases as the passenger count rises. The term of the agreement is for five years."
WVWI Radio One will broadcast Thomas' entire speech to the Ad Club of the Virgin Islands at 12:30 p.m. Thursday.

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