As an extension of the Annual National Travel and Tourism Week, May 9 through 17, the Department of Tourism has planned numerous activities in the territory designed to build awareness of the impact that tourism has on the local economy and emphasize the importance of providing the best customer service to our visitors.
Tourism Week kicked off with a public service announcement campaign in newspapers and on radio stations on all three islands. This year’s campaign, designed to “make every visitor feel special,” will build upon last year’s “Tourism is Me” theme, which was created to convey the message that all residents are in the business of tourism, regardless of individual professions.
The DOT is updating the campaign to address the importance of providing exceptional customer service, keeping the islands clean, sharing the USVI’s culture and history with visitors and recognizing the economic impact of tourism.
One of the highlights of the week-long schedule of events was the free customer service training seminars DOT sponsored on St. Thomas and St. Croix conducted by professional service trainer and Virgin Islander Bryan Williams.
“In addition to emphasizing the economic impact of tourism in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Tourism Week is a time to introduce our youth to careers in tourism, give students the chance experience our islands from a visitor’s perspective and provide the VI workforce with opportunities for professional development,” said DOT Commissioner Beverly Nicholson-Doty.
Tourist for the Day
Approximately 30 students on St. Thomas and 30 on St. John were be treated to a field trip on the opposite island to experience what it’s like to be a “Tourist for the Day,” on May 13 and 15. The children were among students who participated in DOT school presentations earlier in the year.
St. John greeters welcomed visitors and guests to St. John with rum punch, cookies, Mocko Jumbies, steel pan music and other entertainment in the Cruz Bay Park on May 15 for the St. John Welcome Reception and awareness fair.
