U.S. Virgin Islands Sees 10 Percent Increase in Agent Hotel Bookings

Beverly Nicholson Doty, commissioner of the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism, said the destination saw a 10 percent average increase in hotel bookings from agents last year.

Nicholson Doty added the increase has a lot to do with the tourism board’s decision to beef up training for its sales team, which included an increase focus on direct contact with agents from phone calls to face to face meetings.

Prior to last year, Nicholson Doty said there was a misconception by many agents and consumers that the U.S. Virgin Islands simply “weren’t exotic enough.” Because the destination is part of the United States, many assumed the destination was not full of Caribbean culture.

“Being included in the U.S. is great because of the accessibility, how easy it is to travel here, but it also confuses people,” she says. “Some travelers think it is no different that any other part of the U.S., that it isn’t Caribbean. So we had to change that.”