WASHINGTON — The Federal Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released estimates of gross domestic product (GDP) for the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) for 2019, in addition to estimates of GDP by industry and compensation by industry for 2018. These estimates were developed under the Statistical Improvement Program funded by the Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) of […]
Tag: Economic News
Op-Ed: Cruise Travelers Are Still Backbone of U.S. Virgin Islands Tourism Revenue
In Mark Wenner’s article entitled “Time to rethink cruise tourism strategy” he ends with the question: “Given the low expenditure of cruise ship visitors ($165 per head) in the U.S. Virgin Islands, does it make sense to continue to bet heavily on the mass market cruise ship segment?” To answer that question, let’s look at […]
Full Caribbean Tourism Recovery Is Possible After 2021: OP-ED By David Jessop
Last year was a disaster for Caribbean tourism. Estimates suggest that visitor arrivals to the region fell by 75 percent in the last three quarters of 2020 causing overall Caribbean economic growth for the year to contract by 6.2 percent. Despite this, industry professionals now express cautious optimism that by the end of 2021 Caribbean […]
Biden Ally Larry Summers Says $2,000 Stimulus Checks Would Be A ‘Serious Mistake’ That Could ‘Overheat’ The Economy
WASHINGTON — Larry Summers, the former U.S. treasury secretary who has reportedly advised President-elect Joe Biden, thinks $2,000 stimulus checks would be a “pretty serious mistake” that could overheat the US economy. Congress approved a $2.3 trillion funding package containing $600 checks for struggling Americans on Monday. On Thursday, US President Donald Trump called for $2,000 […]
USVI Community Business Forum Is Part of Bryan’s ‘Vision 2040 Economic Development Initiative’
CHRISTIANSTED— Governor Albert Bryan is hosting the first USVI Community Business Forum as part of Vision 2040, the wide-ranging economic development initiative to grow and increase the territory’s economy through a number of programs to increase business opportunities, build a robust workforce and attract new businesses to the U.S. Virgin Islands. The USVI Community Business Forum […]
COVID-19 Dropped A Bomb On The Tourism Economy … Worse Than Irma And Maria
CHARLOTTE AMALIE — What kind of a bomb has COVID-19 dropped on the tourism economy? Worse than two hurricanes in 2017. That’s the finding of the U.S. Virgin Islands chief economist, who said the coronavirus has hit tourism worse than Hurricanes Irma and Maria combined. Donnie Dorsett, a senior economist with the Bureau of Economic […]