Board members from the USVI Hotel & Tourism Association and St. Croix Hotel & Tourism Association representing St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix met via conference call on Wednesday with USVI Commissioner of Tourism Joseph Boschulte to discuss COVID-19 and its local impact. The private and public sectors continue to work closely to monitor COVID-19 and its effect on the territory and economy. Boschulte discussed updates with board members, noting the fluidity of information as the government continues to receive updates and current information every 24 hours. Members are strongly encouraged to visit the Department of Health website at doh.vi.gov/covid19usvi to receive updates and recommendations for protecting your employees and yourself as well as visitors to the territory. Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands Albert Bryan and Boschulte are currently on the mainland meeting with airline and cruise executives and have noted that our traffic is holding strong. The destination continues to be heavily promoted with no marketing dollars pulled. Please remember to only trust reliable resources when gathering information on COVID-19. See below for the most current information.

Join the USVI Hotel & Tourism Association for a continental breakfast at our Annual General Meeting on April 7 from 8:30 to 10 a.m. at The Ritz-Carlton, St. Thomas. U.S. Virgin Islands Gov. Albert Bryan will join as guest speaker. RSVP with Lisa Hamilton at lisa@usvihta.com or by replying to this email.

Please also review the election slate to be voted on at the Annual General Meeting. Click here to view the nomination bylaws.

The Caribbean Advertising Federation (CAF) has announced the winners of the American Advertising Awards, referred to as the ADDY Awards. The ADDY Awards is the advertising industry’s most comprehensive and prestigious competition recognizing creative excellence in advertising. Forty companies from the Caribbean, USA and Canada submitted more than 600 entries created for Caribbean markets. The Caribbean competition is the largest preliminary competition in the 4th AAF District that includes Florida. Two Virgin Islands companies were awarded in the competition. MLB Creative took gold for their Frenchtown Brewing Anniversary Apparel Design, gold for Advertising Agency Self Promotion for Direct Mail, and a silver award for The Hills Saint John Logo Rebrand. Destination USVI/BVI Magazine, distributed on incoming airlines, won a silver award for Magazine Design. Read full press release.

On March 2, FEMA released the new publication " Earthquake Safety at Home ." This guide identifies why and where earthquakes might occur and how readers can “Prepare, Protect, Survive, Respond, Recover and Repair” from an earthquake. The guide discusses wide-ranging steps that readers can take to adequately prepare and protect themselves, their family and their belongings. The guide emphasizes the importance of developing family response plans, assembling earthquake disaster supplies, securing heavy objects and furniture, retrofitting a home and more. Read more from the FEMA Weekly Bulletin .

Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. has issued three proclamations to commemorate V.I. History Month , Social Work Month and Consumer Protection Week . The governor recognized March as Social Work Month, with this year’s theme being “Social Workers: Generations Strong.” He also declared March 1-7 to be Consumer Protection Week – which is commemorated nationally – and cited two distinct divisions within the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs (DLCA) tasked with upholding the Consumer Code: The Weights and Measures Unit and the Consumer Protection Services. Read full press release .

More fr om VI Public Sector:

VIWMA Reminds Businesses to Properly Dispose of Waste Oil

One of the themes for International Women's Day 2020 is #EachforEqual. The International Women's Day website notes that the theme is drawn from the notion of "Collective Individualism," noting that we are all parts of a whole where our individual actions, conversation, behaviors and mindsets can have an impact on our larger society and we can collectively make change happen - collectively we can create a gender equal world. Read more .

More from CHTA:

Marketing Opportunity - Special Offer Ends March 15 – Email megan.jordan@bonniercorp.com

Be prepared for the upcoming toxic sunscreen ban which will take effect April 1, 2020. Act 8185, supported by the hotel and tourism association, amends Virgin Islands code by adding a section banning the retail sale or offer for sale, and the distribution or importation for retail purposes, of topical sunscreen products containing oxybenzone and octinoxate. Click here to read the full legislation and please take steps to be ready on April 1.