USVirgin Islands courts European visitors

USVirgin Islands courts European visitors

THE US Virgin Islands is allocating a UK budget for the first time to try to make up for the fall in US business since the September 11 terrorist attacks.

USVI London office director Don Macintyre said the budget had yet to be decided, but just 5% of the $16 million a year spent in the US would be a good start. The USVI receives about 22,000 visitors a year from Europe, with about 10,000 from the UK.

“We have achieved that with about $200,000 a year. If we could direct just 5% of the US spend into Europe we could see a substantial turnaround. I believe we could double the numbers in two years,” Macintyre said. “Americans are not travelling, but we see the UK and German markets coming back.”