Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1483470
to tourists in March 2020, they approached airline representatives with a strong pitch to resume flights to the islands. Before agreeing, the airlines wanted assurances that passengers would find lodging and things to do when they arrived. Tourism and health officials met with the owners of restaurants, hotels, excursion companies, taxi services and other tourism-related businesses to develop safety protocols for each segment. Once they had a detailed, comprehen- sive reopening plan in place, Boschulte's team shared it with the airlines and other industry partners to get the word out that USVI was ready to welcome visitors again in June 2020. "At the same time – and most importantly – we had to do it with a very empathetic voice," Boschulte says. "There was a pandemic, people were dying and we didn't have a vaccination yet. So what we packaged was an opportunity to reconnect while people were going through a very difficult time." Over the next two months, visitors eager for a place to escape their Covid lockdowns back home came to the USVI in droves. But after that influx, Boschulte and his team realized they needed to regroup to figure out how to meet the unexpectedly high demand for the rest of the tourism season. For 30 days during the heart of hurricane season they closed again to tourists, reopening at the end of August 2020. Preparation for that date included the launch in July of an online travel screening portal, which Boschulte says became "probably the most important tool we had throughout the pandemic." To curb the spread of Covid-19, visitors from states with high positivity rates were required to submit a recent test result to be certified to enter the U.S. island Territory. The portal also collected information to facilitate contact tracing of any visitors exposed to the virus. Currently, the USVI tourism business consists of roughly 60% overnight guests and 40% cruise passengers. Boschulte notes that local residents and business owners appreciate the additional economic boost from guests who stay, dine, shop and play longer than the typical six to eight hours that a ship is in port. In fact, several new businesses have opened to accommo- date these visitors. African-American travelers have been major drivers of the successful tourism turnaround of the USVI and other Caribbean destinations after the pandemic hit, says Boschulte, who adds that his department made a conscious effort to attract that market. "We believe that the African-American traveler is the perfect traveler for us here in the U.S. Virgin Islands.," he says. "We are a U.S. territory, we speak English as our primary language, and want to be the home away from home for African-American travelers in the Caribbean." The USVI is also well-positioned to host conferences, corporate meetings and other group events at a wide range of venues. Small to midsize gatherings are typically the best fit. For trav- elers who are U.S. citizens, being able to travel to and from the islands without passports is a plus, as is the convenience of many nonstop flights from points along the Eastern Seaboard, Boschulte says. When Boschulte travels outside of work, the avid golfer often visits one of his favorite courses in the Southeastern U.S. He and his wife, Aisha, are the proud parents of a son Jaeden, a senior at Emory University, and a daughter Janae, a sophomore at Harvard. Boschulte says the worldwide travel his job requires is not glamorous but nonetheless rewarding, providing opportunities to meet new people and promote his home. "Most impor- tantly," he says, "I enjoy hearing the stories of people that go on vacation in the USVI and come B M & T ••• November/December 2022 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 14 "I ENJOY HEARING THE STORIES OF PEOPLE THAT GO ON VACATION INTHE USVI AND COME BACK WITH A SMILE, SAYING, 'I'VE CREATED SOME OF THE BEST MEMORIES IN MY LIFE."