VIPA and Royal Caribbean Tour Potential Development Areas in Crown Bay
Representatives from the Virgin Islands Port Authority (VIPA) and Royal Caribbean (RCG) cruise lines toured the Crown Bay district of St. Thomas last week with the intention of identifying areas for future development, VIPA’s Executive Carlton Dowe said in a statement on Thursday.
2021-11-05 03:55:10 - VI News Staff
The tour commenced formal negotiations between VIPA and Royal Caribbean after the two parties signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in September 2021 to “improve the cruise facilities and increase cruise visits to both St. Thomas and St. Croix,” said Dowe in the statement.
“This recent meeting between our teams was to perform a deeper dive into the specifics of the agreement terms, discuss in detail the properties we want to develop, and to identify those areas where we may need to do some additional negotiating and possible partnerships to include the Government of the Virgin Islands,” Dowe said.
The MOU signed by VIPA and RCG in September extends its 10-year pier-use agreement for preferential berthing at VIPA’s ports.
VIPA welcomed 22,991 cruise visitors to the territory since July 2021, “making it one of the most visited cruise destinations in the world,” wrote the St. Thomas Source.
While the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected the tourism sector worldwide, it historically remains a major contributor to the Territory’s revenue. According to a 2020 study from the USVI Bureau of Economic Research, tourism accounted for an estimated 30% of the Territory’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019.
Even as tourist activity suffered in the Territory during the pandemic, the pace of decline was far slower when compared to its Caribbean counterparts in several key areas, according to the Caribbean Journal.
The existing agreement between VIPA and RCG was first executed in June 2016, according to the release, and extends the agreement for “an additional number of years,” according to the press release.
According to the statement, the agreement guarantees minimum revenues to VIPA and increased cruise visits to both St. Thomas and St. Croix. In addition, Royal Caribbean Group “has expressed an interest in developing enhancements to the cruise facility in Crown Bay and making landside improvements in the Crown Bay District and St. Croix to enhance the island’s tourism products.”