hovensa closing

Well at least the environmentalist wackos should be happy. Less pollution, no matter the cost. And for those that complained about government tax breaks to Hovensa, have we learned anything from this?

Displaced people can utilize this website to get themselves and their lives back on track: http://www.jobhuntersbible.com

The more effort you put in, the bigger the bang you'll get.

And then there's this to ponder...

Some many years ago, there was a refinery on Aruba. Royal Dutch Shell, I believe. And it, too, closed. People gnashed their teeth and pulled their hair, but it did no good. The refinery, in the capacity they had all come to rely on, was gone.

One day it dawned on everyone... what about, uh, tourism? Maybe we could make a go with that.

So they did.

And Aruba is now like the Numero Uno destination for Americanos in the Caribbean. I mean the Arubians can't rake the green stuff in fast enough.

Could it happen on St. Croix?

Don't see why not.

Just sayin'

A little more food for thought aka what Bushtea just posted.

There's a great article from the 26th in The Source regarding the Film Industry on island. Did you know it's the one of the few niches of the govennment that consistently earns more than it spends?

http://stcroixsource.com/content/news/local-news/2012/01/26/virgin-celluloid-early-days

"According to Bornn, TV productions spend approximately $85,000 a day in a location. Such shoots last on average 7 to 14 days. Feature-length motion pictures pump more than $100,000 per day, with low budget productions and documentaries average between $15,000 and $35,000 per day. Television commercials average between $50,000 and $100,000 per day, and still shoots run around $25,000 per day.

In addition, location film production business generally pays higher than usual wages and is labor-intensive. The industry contracts with local businesses, employs skilled workers and large numbers of local self-employed professionals and paraprofessionals, everything from accountants to technical crews and actors."

It says that 9 film projects are currently slated, with one being a $3.5 million dollar project.

Coming from Austin which saw a huge boom as the film industry moved in - the SXSW film festival and the like - I've seen the value of growing this sort of business. Detroit is actually seeing a boom now - I have a friend who is a cameraman operating the big high-resolution movie cameras that is based out of Detroit. Because Detroit is so depressed right now, it's very cost-effective for Hollywood to move in. They've actually recreated desert scenes in Detroit because it's so much less expensive then shooting on location.

Hollywood on stx? Who knows...but it could be a very cool thing.

Bushtea....I've been screaming this and apparently were in the middle of the forest...cause no one can see it!BTW...I was looking at cheap Caribbean site the other nite. Guess how many pull downs did USVI island hotels have popped up? NONE. Way to go,,,,hotels ...glad your all filled up.Not!!!No marketing majors ????Aruba is NOT close,.......Geez:S

Tourism goes to different states just about every quarter to promote the USVI. I've seen commercials for USVI on TV and seen ads on the side of cabs in Fl, GA & NY. We all need to promote the tourism industry not just hotels but the people on the island need to start telling everyone to visit. They need hospitality training in schools like they do in other Caribbean places so that the kids today understand the importance. When Hovensa was a surefire thing (more or less) no one on the island cared about tourism that much. What happened with Harbor Night etc. Now no Hovensa we are turning to tourism. Tourism is everyone of us. Together we can change the USVI to a tourist destination but it won't work if the people of the island do not understand the impact of tourism or hospitality. We have a beautiful island that is abused but each of us in some way or another. We all stayed at a hotel on the island and thought poorly of the staff there. It's not just the Hospitality Industry but we the people. We need to get it together and start looking and pushing for a better option. I read that 73% of 7th graders are reading below a 7th grade level.

Shawshank Redemption had portions of the movie shot here from my understanding and so has many other movies. It's a great way to look at things but then we would still be reliant on someone deciding to come in and do something with our land. We need to step up and make some initial decisions.

Tourism can help....but we need to start with us before changing the world.

just saying...

Twitter and Facebook both have lots of information going out on the USVI and the activities there are to do here. They can be powerful (and free!) informational sources for potential visitors.

When a local attorney has to tell the Senators that a lender is going to foreclose on the land that was a potential Casino/Hotel/Office development in Christiansted. It kind of makes you wonder who is watching the ship so to speak. There is not enough new moderate hotel space on the island that would attract a blitz in tourism. The financial struggle will be a long time for stx and longer if we keep our current form of Govt and Govt services. We are talking decades of poverty, crime and decay for our island.

Way to go,,,,hotels ...glad your all filled up.Not!!!No marketing majors ????Aruba is NOT close,.......Geez

Poorthing you really do not know what you are talking about and it makes you look foolish. Dept of Tourism is one of the more efficent govt offices. They actually do a good job, take a look at their website. Last year2011 they had promotion after promotion going on and they they do advertising in magazine, major newspapers, commercials.

Now far as hotels go, the Danish Charter has been a god send and not just for hotels in town, they are staying at Divi, Buccaneer, etc... They are filling up Big Beards boats & the other charters/excursions regularly as well as the others that work with the charter which is called Bravo. They eat in most of the restaurants downtown and have been a big boon period. And most of you don't have any idea that it has happened. But most of you don't really know what's going on but are just ranting. The gentleman that got this together owns a hotel downtown and him and his GM go to Denmark regularly. AND THEY ARE NOT EVEN MARKETING MAJORS. This hotel has been doing this for decades, Danes come back with and without the charter because of the extra effort this team puts in making the Danes feel at home and welcome. They all know the GM name on the first day because she personnal greets them, chats, sings etc with them. Whatever makes them happy because she cares.

The best thing about this charter is it will go year round! There will be no off season this year for several hotels. Or at least a very mild one.

Please stop raggin on the local hotels, most of you do not know how hard they are working. This hotel in particular is putting money into many other peoples pockets.

The best thing about this charter is it will go year round!

I believe that the Danish Charter is scheduled to end in April. This was announced by Brad Nugent at a recent meeting. There are also no cruise ships scheduled to visit STX from the end of April until the end of October.

@Hiya! - so that's why I've seen lots of Danish tourists at Schooner Bay. They seem to be there pretty regularly - the store staff do very well serving them, even with the language difference.

Good example of how it can be done. 🙂 Thank you.

There are also no cruise ships scheduled to visit STX from the end of April until the end of October.

It's my experience that there aren't many cruise ships at all in the Caribbean during the summer months. I remember looking a few years back for a Caribbean cruise in July and couldn't find one with any of the major carriers. This is due to the off-season moving of ships to places like Alaska and so on - people often want to cool off on a cruise during the summer.

As a matter of fact I just checked Celebrity's website and they don't show any cruises in the Caribbean from May through September. So this isn't just a STX thing. Please tell me if I'm wrong. 🙂

ETA: I understand that maybe the concern isn't that it's a STX thing, more just that there aren't any anywhere. But there can be other sources of tourism. I don't have a solution, but am just discussing.

And then there's this to ponder...

Some many years ago, there was a refinery on Aruba. Royal Dutch Shell, I believe. And it, too, closed. People gnashed their teeth and pulled their hair, but it did no good. The refinery, in the capacity they had all come to rely on, was gone.

One day it dawned on everyone... what about, uh, tourism? Maybe we could make a go with that.

So they did.

And Aruba is now like the Numero Uno destination for Americanos in the Caribbean. I mean the Arubians can't rake the green stuff in fast enough.

Could it happen on St. Croix?

Um....have you met a Crucian?? Tourism on STX is laughable.
Don't see why not.

Just sayin'

There are also no cruise ships scheduled to visit STX from the end of April until the end of October.

It's my experience that there aren't many cruise ships at all in the Caribbean during the summer months. I remember looking a few years back for a Caribbean cruise in July and couldn't find one with any of the major carriers. This is due to the off-season moving of ships to places like Alaska and so on - people often want to cool off on a cruise during the summer.

As a matter of fact I just checked Celebrity's website and they don't show any cruises in the Caribbean from May through September. So this isn't just a STX thing. Please tell me if I'm wrong. 🙂

ETA: I understand that maybe the concern isn't that it's a STX thing, more just that there aren't any anywhere. But there can be other sources of tourism. I don't have a solution, but am just discussing.

STT will have no shortage of ships this summer. http://www.cruisetimetables.com/cruises-to-st-thomas-us-virgin-islands.html

The RCI Adventurer has visited STX every other week throughout the summer. This year, it will be positioned in the Mediterranean and no ships have been scheduled to fill the gap.

This is hilarious...the idea of anything thriving on St. Croix is a joke! Hollywood on St. Croix....just wait until the first Crucian opens their ignorant mouth to talk about being bahn here! My goodness, what will happen when those clowns start attacking production companies and their employees. Or better yet, imagine Hollywood producers having to appear before that great body of morons otherwise known as the VI Legislature! The VI is a rapidly sinking ship. I predicted years ago that, without Hovensa, STX would end up like Detroit, only with a greater population of degenerates....looks like chickens are coming home to roost!

@coolchica - sorry you had such a bad experience here. I should let my boyfriend of two years (who has lived on STX for 7 years) post, but I'll post what he would say...

You haven't posted anything in four years. And now you no longer live on island. Understanding your personal anger and frustration for your experience, why are you back? Just to spread negativity and fear and anger? I don't see any other purpose to your posts. Is there a good purpose for them?

There are a lot of really happy people here, and most Crucians I've met are kind and welcoming. This isn't DisneyWorld - or Atlantis. That's the mistake of perception and expectation I think a lot of Americans make, but they don't just make it on STX, they make it throughout the Caribbean.

I hope now that you've moved home life gets better for you. 🙂

Aussie, you are 100 percent wrong. It will go on year round. I work with these people every day I know what is going on. I have no idea about cruise ships. But there is very very little I do not know about the charter. Cruise ships change ports all the time for variety.

ETA: I understand that maybe the concern isn't that it's a STX thing, more just that there aren't any anywhere. But there can be other sources of tourism. I don't have a solution, but am just discussing.

STT will have no shortage of ships this summer. http://www.cruisetimetables.com/cruises-to-st-thomas-us-virgin-islands.html

The RCI Adventurer has visited STX every other week throughout the summer. This year, it will be positioned in the Mediterranean and no ships have been scheduled to fill the gap.

Ahh, I see it now. Thank you aussie for clearing that up for me. Perhaps as time goes by it can change, who knows.

Edited to fix my mistakes, and to thank Hiya! for adding information as well. 🙂

Aussie, you are 100 percent wrong. It will go on year round. I work with these people every day I know what is going on. I have no idea about cruise ships. But there is very very little I do not know about the charter. Cruise ships change ports all the time for variety.

I didn't claim that I knew it to be true, Hiya! Read my post again. Perhaps you meant that Brad Nugent, the Assistant Commissioner at U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism, is 100 percent wrong.

I hope you're right

Approx 60,000,000. dollar loss PA to the USVI. Maybe we don't know marketing, but we do know the math! I'm glad we have the talent on this board that knows everything about tourism.

Just because I haven't posted in four years, doesn't mean I dont read and quite frankly, I still read to keep up on what's going on. I used to lobby hard for EVERYONE to get off Hovensas back, so it is rather comforting to see chickens come home to roost. Moreover, when I read these ridiculously naive posts on life in the VI, the temptation to respond is overwhelming.

And yes, life is better when you can go to a decent grocery store and get FRESH produce and good customer service. It is nice to live in a place where I am not confronted by ignorance, ill-manners and crime on a daily basis. I have been infinitely more relaxed not having to look over my shoulders, or worry about being shot or mugged. And the last time I checked, I live in a free country and have the right to my well-reasoned opinion. Good luck living in Detroit.

I mean, come on, SIX murders in the first few weeks of a new year?? The writing is on the wall and this has nothing to do with my feelings for STX. I stayed because I had a well-paying job and thankfully, an opportunity arose to return stateside. And yes, I met a few nice people, but overwhelmingly, the majority of people on the island left a whole lot to be desired.

Okay Hiya...I'll give you that....but can you tell me the occupancy rate of the available hotel/condos on island (stx).Now I will admit I'm not in the hotel business but just because there is one good story doesn't mean they can carry the island by themselves.If they could why are places still closing down.We can go much further and be more aggressive in ALL aspects.I have stayed at numerous places on island including the Buc,Divi and they were not BUSY.I enjoyed the peace and quiet and the beach chairs to myself but wondered where was everyone else.........????????and these aren't No tell motels;)I have been to 5 other Carribean islands and they all beat the heck out of hospitality ,packages etc...

I consistently buy fresher produce on island then I've bought in the states. I also find manners and ignorance go both ways.

And I don't know about "ridiculously naive" - I can only speak for me, and for me, I've lived in a lot of rough places in my life, all over the world. And I understand that there are many opinions about what led to the closing of Hovensa, and the discussion now afterwards. But if you're happier in the states now, then I'm glad - sounds like you made the right decision for you.

Aussie, yes he is wrong, The Dept of Tourism had ZERO to do with getting the charter here, why would he know anything??? Didn't realize it would be shocking that someone running for senate doesn't know what they are talking about. But you are just reposting a rumor that is wrong. Obviously he had very little in the way of facts, but had no problem talking out of his...

60,000,000 are you talking about the casino Happy face? That was a EXTREME long shot. And so full of holes if you did ever hear the details about the possible casino downtown you would have know there was no way it was going to happen. And yes I know a lot more then you do Happy about Tourism.