The U.S. Virgin Islands are open again for tourism. After a one-month pause in tourism due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the destination has swung open its doors once again.
Since September 19, 2020, when hotels were permitted to accept new check-ins, hundreds of guests, the majority of whom were prescreened through the Department of Tourism’s Travel Screening Portal, have arrived via air and sea. The prescreening process now requires that all travelers, 5-years-old and older, without regard to the COVID-19 positivity rate in the visitor’s state of residence, submit evidence of testing for the virus.
“We value our partners immensely and we are confident they will continue to cooperate with us to ensure our guests experience the best we have to offer in the U.S. Virgin Islands, including sun, sand, sea and safety,” said U.S. Virgin Islands Tourism Commissioner Joseph Boschulte.
The U.S. Virgin Islands shut down to leisure visitors August 19 as its COVID-19 numbers started to increase.
“We appreciate the concerns of our tourism partners and stakeholders, however, with the recent spike in cases we are seeing, especially in the St. Thomas-St. John district, we must reset, take stock, safeguard human life, and prepare for restarting our tourism economy at a later date,” said Boschulte in August as he spoke about the difficult but necessary decision.
Questions about the U.S. Virgin Islands and its response to COVID-19 can be emailed to [email protected] or call (800) 372-USVI (8784).
For more updates on new protocols, visit Recommend’s Safe Travels page. Stories about future travel can be accessed at #AmazingDaysAhead. For more insight on how the U.S. Virgin Islands put brakes on travel to battle COVID-19 read here.
