April 6, 2001 — Following through on his promise to come up with a replacement for the tourism authority proposal that he vetoed in February to the dismay of the territory’s private sector, Gov. Charles Turnbull on Thursday appointed members to a tourism advisory committee.
The eight-member advisory committee, created by Turnbull in an executive order executive, is aimed at "solidifying the partnership between the private sector and the Department of Tourism," the governor said.
"It presents an opportunity for more structured on-going interaction between the public and private sector and forum for raising, discussing and determining the appropriate course of action for dealing with the important issues and concerns," Turnbull said in a release Thursday.
Named to the advisory committee are Joseph Aubain and Kevin Jackson, executive directors of the St. Thomas-St. John and St. Croix Chambers of Commerce, respectively; Harold Baker, executive director of the V.I. Taxicab Commission; Beverly Nicholson and Madeline McCray, executive directors of the St. Thomas-St. John Hotel and Tourism Association and the St. Croix Hotel and Tourism Association, respectively; James O’Bryan, Turnbull’s public affairs and policy assistant; Claire Roker, St. Croix district manager for Delegate Donna Christian-Christensen; and Leona Bryant, former assistant commissioner of Economic Development and Agriculture.
Additionally, Acting Tourism Commissioner Pamela Richards will chair the committee if she is confirmed as the commissioner by the Legislature.
While Richard Doumeng, president of the St. Thomas-St. John Hotel and Tourism Association, and practically all of the territory’s private sector tourism industry leaders favored a tourism authority, Doumeng said Thursday that he would wait before judging Turnbull’s effort.
He did say that he was heartened that Nicholson, Roker and Bryant were appointed to sit on the advisory committee considering their experience with larger tourism-related issues such as marketing and advertising.
Turnbull vetoed the tourism authority proposal even though it was recommended in the government’s five-year economic recovery plan. The tourism authority would have replaced the V.I. Tourism Department with a semi-autonomous agency in charge of the territory’s tourism product.
Turnbull said he vetoed the tourism authority because it would vest too much power in a community board without enough public-sector involvement. He also said eliminating the Tourism Department "overnight" was not prudent.
Doumeng noted that the make-up of the advisory committee reflected that of the community, which could help to change the perception of the value of tourism among the territory’s general population.
Still, he said he can’t judge the advisory committee’s future effectiveness because he isn’t sure of its role and wasn’t involved in its creation.
"It’s as viable as the governor wants to make it," Doumeng said. "Obviously, it will depend on if the governor listens to the recommendations."
The vetoed tourism authority would have been structured like the V.I. Port Authority and the West Indian Co. Ltd. It would have had nine members — three from government and six from the private sector. All nominees would have been approved by the governor and confirmed by the Legislature. The board would have had the authority to issue bonds and would been managed by an executive director.
Critics of the governor’s advisory committee have said it won’t have the teeth needed to implement change in the government’s tourism policy.
"The most immediate goal is to get more mileage out of the (tourism) budget we already have," Doumeng said.
