TIME TO THINK ABOUT DIVERSIFYING INTO AGRITOURISM

The U.S. Virgin Islands is a popular tourist destination in the Caribbean, featuring stunningly beautiful beaches, quaint colonial Danish architecture, hospitable people and does not require a passport for Americans. Thanks to high air connectivity, and being a fixture on the cruise ship port of calls lists for cruise ships, the territory has become one of the most tourist-dependent jurisdictions in the Caribbean.

Tourism in the Virgin Islands accounts for more than 90% of exports, more than 30 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and more than 14 percent of direct employment.

As a mature tourism destination, it faces competition from newer destinations in the Eastern Caribbean that may be more difficult to get to but maybe more “novel”. At the same time, the V.I. is struggling with cost competitiveness, especially for daily meal expenditures, average daily hotel rates and average transportation costs compared to larger Western Caribbean states (Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Cuba) and the Mexican Yucatan coast (Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Cozumel). For example, according to the Travel Cost Index for the Caribbean, the V.I. ranks as the 14th most expensive place in 2021, with an average cost per day per person at $199.

Recent external shocks — the twin hurricanes of 2017 and the COVID pandemic — set back the local tourism industry, but a rebound is occurring. Notwithstanding the good recovery news, the V.I. has not returned to pre-Irma/Maria tourist arrival and expenditure figures, circa 2016. To return to and hopefully surpass the 2016 expenditure figures, actions and initiatives to upgrade, rejuvenate and diversify tourism product offerings must occur.

NEW PRODUCT OFFERING: AGRITOURISM

A product that can be offered is agricultural tourism. As defined by the National Center for Agricultural Law at the University of Arkansas, agritourism is a form of enterprise that links agricultural production and/or processing with tourism to attract visitors onto a farm, ranch, or other agricultural business for recreation, entertainment and education of visitors. In the process, it generates income for the farm, ranch or business owner.