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USVI Tourism Seeks $39 million for FY2026; lawmakers press agency on $1.3M in unpaid vendor bills
Summary
The U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism told the Senate Budget Committee it is seeking the same $39 million it received in FY2025 to sustain marketing, festivals and visitor‑experience work, while senators pressed officials over a roughly $1.3 million backlog in unpaid vendor invoices.
Jennifer Matarangus King, the Department of Tourism commissioner‑nominee, told the Senate Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance on Aug. 19 that the department is again requesting $39,000,000 for fiscal year 2026, “directly mirroring our FY ’25 budget.” The department said recent aviation additions and a rise in festival activity helped 2025 arrivals and bookings, and officials forecast further gains for the winter season.
The department highlighted air services added this year (including new American Airlines, JetBlue and Southwest routes) and said air‑seat capacity is up versus 2024. Director for Division of Festivals Ian Turnbull and assistant commissioner Alani Heneman described expanded festival programming and partnerships with sports and lifestyle events that, the department says, have increased bookings and visitor spending.
Senators pressed staff for financial details. Jamilia Miller, director of administration and management, said the department had received most allotments but reported a current vendor backlog of “about 1.3” million dollars. Miller told the committee some late festival and sponsorship invoices require property and procurement review before finance can pay them. “We have not been able to process these within 10 months,” she said of some festival‑related payments, and added the bureau is staffing its finance team to speed processing.
Committee members repeatedly pressed for faster vendor payments to local contractors and for clearer communications with vendors. Senator Carla J. Joseph said she had received constituent complaints about a local vendor owed roughly $13,000 from a 2024 festival. Senator Clifford Joseph described the department’s reputation for late payments and urged immediate fixes. Tourism officials said they are working more closely with OMB and the Department of Finance, and that the department had contracted a third party payment processor in past years to bridge timing gaps.
On staffing, tourism officials said the department is moving quickly to recruit visitor‑experience staff and “greeters” at ports to improve first impressions for cruise and air visitors. Commissioner‑nominee Matarangus King and assistant commissioners said they had begun recruiting and planned training programs for greeters, and that directors of visitor experience for each district had been identified and would be posted. Senators asked for a cost estimate to sustain year‑round greeter teams and suggested making a stable funding line for those positions in future budgets.
Festival funding and promotion drew sustained attention. The department said it funds village events and larger festival sponsorships from the Tourism Advertising Revolving Fund and that cruise and hotel growth is helping tax and fee receipts. Senators asked how sponsorship award levels are chosen; the department said events are chosen for likely visitor draw and marketing leverage, and that it uses a minimum 5:1 return‑on‑investment expectation for major sponsorships.
The committee asked for more detail on: a line‑item accounting of how the FY2025 $39 million was spent; a timeline for clearing the $1.3 million in outstanding invoices; the annual cost to staff and train greeters at ports and airports; and a breakdown of vacancy savings and the department’s personnel plan. Tourism officials agreed to provide requested financial breakdowns and to report back on timelines for vendor payments and greeter cost estimates.
Senator Novelli E. Francis Jr., chair of the budget committee, said the committee will follow up during budget markup and that lawmakers expect clearer documentation of how the department spends public funds and faster vendor payment processing.
Ending: The department framed its FY2026 ask as a continuation of FY2025 funding levels to sustain marketing, festivals, and visitor experience work. Lawmakers signaled they will press for faster vendor payments and asked for concrete cost estimates before final appropriation decisions.
