USVI residents, community organizations, and business owners are invited to participate in a series of Virtual Town Hall meetings that are being held territory-wide. The Town Hall meetings will provide the entire community with an opportunity to weigh-in on the discussion of how the territory can increase economic opportunity and explore ways to diversify the USVI economy.
The insight and recommendations gleaned from these discussions will be used to shape the territory’s 5-year Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) and the Tourism Master Plan (TMP). The CEDS is a locally-based, regionally-driven economic development planning process and document that allows regions to identify strengths and weaknesses and brings together a diverse set of partners to generate jobs, diversify the economy, and spur economic growth.
The TMP will capture and address post-hurricane and post-COVID-19 impacts on the tourism industry and identify ways to make the industry less vulnerable to economic downturns and natural disasters. The goal is to develop a TMP that lays out the path to more competitive, diversified, sustainable, and resilient tourism industry for the territory.
The Government of the USVI has engaged the services of the University of the Virgin Islands, Center for Excellence in Leadership and Learning (UVICELL) in the creation of the 5-year strategy and plan.
The meetings are open to the entire public; however, participants must register in advance.
Once registered, a confirmation email will be sent containing further information about joining the meeting.
The virtual sessions are as follows:
St. Croix
6 – 8 pm
Wed., Sept. 9, 2020
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0sc-qgqjMqGNEdXKwzSO7-1ln5FlON8gz5
St. John
6 – 8 pm
Wed., Sept.16, 2020
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAlf-GrrTorHNDQGfCZbnqGd_AG22Tdj_pA
St. Thomas
6:00 – 8:00 pm
Wed., Sept. 23, 2020
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUucOmqrD8jHdeSpykmZ4SD9fl10cg893BB
For more information, contact Caroline Simon at UVI CELL by email cpolydo@uvi.edu or visit the website at http://cell.uvi.edu.