West Indian Company President and Chief Executive Officer Joseph Boschulte, who served as the territory’s former tourism commissioner, told the public corporation’s board of directors Friday that they welcomed 302 cruise ship calls and just under 950,000 passengers so far in this fiscal year, which he called a “significant increase” over the prior year. WICO expects approximately three calls per week this summer before cruise traffic begins to slow in August.
Though WICO expects to have roughly the same number of calls next year, Boschulte said Friday that they’re anticipating the total number of passengers will increase from 1.17 million to more than 1.2 million.
“It shows that the cruise industry is fully recovered from COVID, which is a good sign for us. The other positive sign that we’ve seen in terms of our business is that San Juan’s homeporting continues to strengthen,” he said. Boschulte said that’s leading to more calls for the region and offers an opportunity to generate revenue by selling water to the vessels. “So any time we see San Juan coming stronger, it generally bodes well for us.”
Boschulte also reported that the corporation recently issued two solicitations: one to upgrade its water system and another to develop 14 acres near the company’s berth on St. Thomas. The response deadline is Aug. 5. Boschulte said they continue to get questions about plans for the property and that he himself had received questions about the type of development WICO wishes to see.
“My responses have been: we’re open to whatever people believe can be enhanced and provide returns necessary for the project to be successful,” he said.
The board later went into executive session and approved the corporation’s fiscal year 2027 operating budget. Boschulte said WICO will appear before the Senate Budget, Appropriations and Finance Committee in August.
