Hurricane Irma damaged several islands on the eastern side of the Caribbean as a Category 5 storm, but it unleashed a special fury Sept. 6 on St. Thomas and St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). The third island, St. Croix, was spared Irma's wrath but took a direct hit from Category 5 Hurricane Maria in the wee hours of Sept. 20. Most of the St. Thomas and St. John visitors have been evacuated by cruise ships, ferries and military planes. Many residents feared for their safety in the early days, due to lack of food, water, power and gas, although a large contingent of National Guard troops and Marines have been patrolling the islands, particularly at night when a curfew is in effect.
Beverly Nicholson-Doty, U.S. Virgin Islands' commissioner of tourism, answered questions from contributing editor for the Caribbean Gay Nagle Myers about the challenges and difficulties facing St. Thomas and St. John in the months ahead.
Q: What is the current situation on St. Thomas and St. John?
Beverly Nicholson-Doty
A: The islands received significant damage overall, including to our tourism infrastructure. A full assessment has not been completed, but it is safe to say that those islands will be available only to relief workers at this time.
With the devastating impact of the storm on St. Thomas and St. John, all systems are severely strained.
Q: What are the biggest problems facing the U.S. Virgin Islands now?
A: Getting the word out that St. Croix did not receive the full impact of the storm is very important. (Note: This interview was completed before Category 5 Hurricane Maria was forecasted to hit St. Croix. Maria made landfall on St. Croix early on Sept. 20.)
Several cruise calls have been scheduled for St. Croix in September and October, including Royal Caribbean's Adventure of the Seas on Sept. 17. St. Croix will lead our tourism positioning for the foreseeable future.
We have already started to shift our marketing strategy to focus on St. Croix while we rebuild St. Thomas and St. John.
With tourism being a leading driver of our economy, there is no doubt that the USVI's tourism economy will be negatively impacted.
St. Thomas and St. John will have activity in other industries, such as relief workers and in the area of construction.
Q: In terms of help, what are you receiving from the U.S., cruise lines and airlines? Is it enough?
A: As a U.S. territory, the U.S. Virgin Islands is receiving support from the federal government, from FEMA, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Army Corps of Engineers, the National Park Service and the Department of the Interior.
The Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association and member lines Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. have been incredible partners, aiding in getting stranded passengers out of the territory. Also, Delta Air Lines operated a mercy mission, which helped evacuate visitors with medical emergencies, those in shelters and those in hotels with the most compromised systems.
Hotel partners in low-lying areas were very responsible, evacuating guests ahead of the storm.
Q: What message do you want to get out?
A: We thank all our industry partners for contributing to the relief efforts.
The most important contribution our partners can make to the USVI is to help spread the message that St. Croix is open for business to welcome visitors. We are depending upon the resilience of tourism and of our people to revitalize our economy and support our residents.