St Croix.com commercials

I hear all the commercials on th radio for St Croix.com about how we all need to band togetrher in these hard times for our island.
What is the tourist board really doing for us? Are they making sure we are advertised up in the mainland or elsewhere? Probably not.
Are they workibng with the government to get the boardwalk repaired with all the Omar and other damage? Probably not Are they tribn gto get more air lift in here? We seem to have held on to our history better than STT and STJ. Why not promote that and they fact that we have the wide open spaces and long quiet beaches?
Are they working woth the police to help with crime? probably not Or are they a bunch of people just sitting in and office?
Am I wrong? I hope so
I moved to St Croix 2 months ago after coming here for 6 years. I love this island , it's home and want to see it rise up.

glad you mentioned that you moved here 2 months ago because that explains a lot. it appears you simply don't know some things. i hope this helps...

here are the current travel deals being marketed nationwide: http://www.visitusvi.com/package_and_promotions

here is a list of the press releases and promotional opportunities that our tourism department has initiated: http://www.usvipressroom.com/pressrelease99.html

some of the videos produced for their outbound efforts: http://www.visitusvi.com/multimedia_island_journal

we were on the today show: http://virginislandsdailynews.com/news/today-show-hosts-dance-to-a-v-i-beat-1.880271#axzz1rJbnHdfA

marketing for the usvi, including the usvi times: http://usvimarketing.com/

contact m. booth (the marketing agency in new york city) and associates for more info: http://www.usvipressroom.com/contacts.html

public works is responsible for our roads, you may want to call the office of the governor on that.

airlift had increased for the new season, with direct flights from canada, denmark, and more airlines coming in such as jet blue. for some reason american eagle will be pulling out next year, but this is not within anyone's control

again, contact the office of the governor when it comes to criminal activity

our tourism department is working hard, with what resources they have, and i am impressed with what they've been able to do. i am in the hospitality industry so i am directly connected and receive their newsletters as well. i have also sat in on some of their planning meetings, whether in person, by webinar, or virtual, via email. they seek much public input too.

you asked, i hope i began the answer phase.

my 2 cents for the day.

You're making an awful lot of assumptions for someone who's only been here for two months. This is the incubation period when your best bet is to listen, absorb and learn while keeping the utterances to the minimum. Up until very recently my TV network feeds came from stateside and it was a regular occurrence to see ads created by the VI Department of Tourism promoting the territory as a vacation destination along with special deals worked out with the airlines. If you follow local news you'll read details about all about the ongoing promotions and you can also go to the tourism department's website which they keep pretty much up to date with what's going on.

As a former employee at the largest resort on STX, I can guarantee that theDepartment of Tourism is doing a wonderful job during difficult times. One example (of many) are the Danish charters. Another is the stateside commercials.

i thought i heard that they were going to repair the dock downtown too. pot hole get filled every year for the ironman, at least for the route they take

The original post makes some very valid points and I appreciate Anita’s follow up and assurances.

I am a very frequent visitor of ten years to St Croix from North Carolina. We have direct service from December though April. I keep a constant mental commercial running in my mind singing the praises of St Croix, because I love the island, and it people, and it scuba diving.

I don’t think you have to live on the island for years before you can speak your opinion of the obvious.

Two facts the poster presents effect tourism directly; crime, and crime prevention, and the shabby state of the boardwalk.

Here is my list of fixes.

Want a 5 Year tourism plan for St Croix? Fix what you already have.

Start by having access to public toilets in tourist areas. Porta jons will do. Actually clean and empty them too.

Put in more trash containers in tourist areas and actually empty them.

The boardwalk has become a disgrace. It hasn't been repaired since Omar. The boards are warn down and the lighting is unsafe. Fix it.

Next, stop all the unnecessary parking tickets and towing to the other end of the island. The police are too heavy handed on tourists. Parking isn’t a crime. If the community announces all day on the radio Saturday, that there is an event on Sunday, how was I supposed to know when I arrived Saturday night about a Sunday event? Put up real and noticeable placards high on the utility poles to warn of special events and towing policy.

Take the parking and ticketing cops I just freed up and put them on the beat at tourism places like cane bay, C’sted and Fsted. There needs to be more police presence.

As hard as this may be, the locals need to act nice to tourists. I know this is painful but it helps the dollars to flow by being pleasant.

Get rid of the new homeless person called “Smiley” that screams racist slurs at white folks and then spits on them. He is not as endearing at Keith, Richard or $2 Man.

It is so apparent when I see gangs of thieves and robbers milling about on the boardwalk in the light of day. Why isn't it apparent to the police. I have seen with my own eyes gangs of teenagers shoplift, rob and steal. I saw a man pull a gun at The Deck Bar and threaten a bartender to get a free drink. And I see the same, not so friendly kid year in and year out, now a young man, who sells puppies to tourists.

It is okay for the Police to tell some people to move along.

Reggie Hunnicutt

Old Tart. No assumptions were made if you read my entire post I ended with "am I wrong". Thats why I cam to this discussion board to get answers. I just went with my thoughts on what I have seen, I have been coming for 4 0r 5 times a year for 6 years and It looks like decline. I want to see this island rise up.The resonse from anita and reg hunnicutt is what I was looking for. I am here for the long haul.

Old Tart. No assumptions were made if you read my entire post I ended with "am I wrong". Thats why I cam to this discussion board to get answers. I just went with my thoughts on what I have seen, I have been coming for 4 0r 5 times a year for 6 years and It looks like decline. I want to see this island rise up.The resonse from anita and reg hunnicutt is what I was looking for. I am here for the long haul.

The assumptions may have been assumed when you commented such as, "probably not", and, "are they a bunch of people sitting in an office". I'd suggest that in order to better learn what's going on, you read both daily newspapers (the Avis and the VI Daily News), read the online Source, listen to as much local radio as you're able and become involved in community activities. You can have been coming here 4 or 5 times a year for decades but until you actually live here for a while and become a part of the community you'll really know very little about what's going on. Even so, asking questions with an immediate negative in hand (as you did) is neither an endearing trait nor very productive. All the best settling in!

I take your points and I know we can do better. But how exactly do you recognize "gangs of thieves and robbers milling about on the boardwalk in the light of day"? What do they look like? Are they wearing uniforms? Signs? This sentence in your post is very troubling.

I plan on getting involved as much as possible. Animal shelter and the recycle St Croix are my two starts.

Thank you JDog for your post. I commend you and if all of us take into consideration that a fresh set of eyes is what we are needing, we wouldnt be so quick to condemn. We all to take a closer look at our island. Sometimes we can't see the forest through the trees since we've been looking at the trees so long. I think we all need to stop condemning new eyesthat are fresh on the island since those are exactly what our visitors are seeing

Since tourism is now our need for survival we need to listen more to these voices

Just saying

I hear all the commercials on th radio for St Croix.com about how we all need to band togetrher in these hard times for our island.
What is the tourist board really doing for us? Are they making sure we are advertised up in the mainland or elsewhere? Probably not.
Are they workibng with the government to get the boardwalk repaired with all the Omar and other damage? Probably not Are they tribn gto get more air lift in here? We seem to have held on to our history better than STT and STJ. Why not promote that and they fact that we have the wide open spaces and long quiet beaches?
Are they working woth the police to help with crime? probably not Or are they a bunch of people just sitting in and office?
Am I wrong? I hope so
I moved to St Croix 2 months ago after coming here for 6 years. I love this island , it's home and want to see it rise up.

Well, someone is doing something about air fares. Since Jan.2 AA has had fares to STT and STX for less than $400 and some for as low as $300 RT. I haven't see these low prices for over 5 years or more.