The V.I. Department of Tourism has joined forces with St. Thomas-born reggae star Delyno "Pressure Buss Pipe" Brown to promote travel to the territory this summer.
The partnership will include a new 30-second national television commercial, featuring Pressure’s song "Virgin Islands Nice," to support the summer campaign.
Tourism Commissioner Beverly Nicholson-Doty said, "It is with tremendous pride that we connect with one of our talented Virgin Islanders to promote travel to our islands this summer."
Doty said the partnership came to life at an Ambassadors Reception in Miami in January after Pressure Buss Pipe delivered a pulsating performance for Virgin Islanders.
"We Virgin Islanders know just how nice our islands are, and we want travelers to come and see for themselves the amazing Virgin Islands vacation experiences we deliver here," the commissioner said.
The campaign will offer added value at participating hotels, restaurants and attractions across St. Croix, St. John and St. Thomas, Nicholson-Doty said. The commercial, which is being produced in the Virgin Islands, will form part of a national television ad campaign and the promotion will include a major digital media component and social media strategy.
Nicholson-Doty said the campaign will feature "Nice Packages," showcasing several travel segments within the territory, while local tourism providers will be rewarded for delivering "Nice Experiences" each month.
Visitors, including Virgin Islands Ambassadors on the mainland, will be encouraged to share their experiences across social media, and lucky winners will be rewarded for their posts, she said.
Pressure Buss Pipe is best known for the hit song "Love and Affection." After being a victim of gun crime and in response to the rise in violent crime in the islands, Pressure organized a peace concert in St. Thomas in August 2013.
More information about the tourism in the U.S. Virgin Islands is available online at VisitUSVI.com. Those interested can follow on Twitter – @USVITourism – and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/VisitUSVI.
How about advertising as a “GREAT” summer vacation in the VI. I know I’d much rather go somewhere advertised that way as opposed to just being “nice.”
Plus, if you want to attract more tourism to our islands how about making it not only a “GREAT” but “GREAT and SAFE” destination? CLEAN and AFFORDABLE would be a boon, too!
“SAFE”? Hmmmmm, let’s really make it safe first.
@Alana
There will always be naysayers who don’t see anything positive. This is a start please give things a chance before you start to make you negative comments. One thing I have noticed about the people from the other Caribbean islands, is that no matter how much crime and how bad things are in those islands, you will never hear or see them writing anything negative about their countries. Speak to a Haitian or Jamaican and you’ll see what I am talking about. As far as they are concern, everything is NICE where they came from. Only in the Virgin Islands the people are so dawn negative.