Sept. 12, 2001 – There was no count of the number of visitors stranded across the Virgin Islands Wednesday, but most of them won't have to pay the full hotel rate for the extra days they're forced to spend in the territory while they wait for airports to reopen.
Phyllis Blackman-Smith at the St. Thomas/St. John Hotel Association said most hotels cut prices for stranded guests by 30 to 50 percent.
It was not clear at noon Wednesday when the airports on St. Thomas and St. Croix, as well as those on the mainland, would reopen after being closed by the Federal Aviation Administration Tuesday in response to the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
The Port Authority said in a release Wednesday that no one except employees with proper identification were being allowed to enter the airports until they reopen. It suggested that the traveling public "contact the airlines directly for updates as to travel arrangements."
Richard Doumeng, president of the St. Thomas Hotel and Tourism Association, said that concern about any impact on tourism in the territory and globally pales in comparison that for the loss suffered by the victims and their families. He noted that in the Virgin Islands, the months of August, September and October traditionally see the fewest visitors, so any fall-off in the coming weeks will cause the territory relatively little harm economically.
Doumeng expressed the view that while many people may initially be reluctant to fly as a result of Tuesday's terrorism, in the longer term, they will view the attack as an isolated incident and return to their normal habits. These habits, he said, will include business travel and Caribbean vacations.
However, Doumeng added, Americans will have to get used to stringent security procedures already in place at what are considered vulnerable airports around the world. This means earlier check-ins and more thorough inspections, he said.
There were network television reports Wednesday that travelers should plan to get to airports at least two hours before their takeoff times, even for domestic travel, once flights resume.
"We've been so protected so long, we don't have a heightened sense of awareness like the rest of the world does," Doumeng said. He noted that security for El Al, the Israeli airline, is always high because the region experiences frequent terrorist attacks. "It's like the prime minister was on board every time," he said.
Eileen Irby, who manages vacation villas on St. John, said her business had already slowed down in recent weeks because of the stock market faltering, and potential guests were being conservative with their money. She suggested that even fewer visitors will be arriving in the territory "if this tips us into a recession."
Irby said she, too, doesn't believe people will stop flying. She noted that airplanes flying from the New York City area to the Virgin Islands or San Juan, where passengers connect with planes to the territory, carry as much fuel as those heading for Los Angeles. Published reports indicated that Tuesday's terrorists targeted flights bound from the East Coast to California because those planes carried heavy loads of fuel for cross-country travel.
West Indian Co. spokesman Calvin Wheatley said earlier that no cruise ships were scheduled to arrive for the rest of this week. The territory's seaports remained open Wednesday but under heightened security measures, the Port Authority said.
