Assistant Tourism Commissioner Brad Nugent, Tourism Commissioner Beverly Nicholson-Doty, former Sen. David Jones and Economic Development Authority Director Percival Clouden at Monday's Senate committee hearing.

The return of cruise ships to St. Croix is pumping millions of new dollars into the local economy annually and is generating new, locally owned businesses, but lots more could be done to help the big island's attraction to tourist and their dollars. At a hearing Monday of the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Energy and Technology, officials from some of the relevant government agencies joined with businesspeople and concerned citizens to hash out some of the successes and challenges toward selling St. Croix to the world, with an eye toward positive action.

Tourism Commissioner Beverly Nicholson-Doty told the committee cruise-ship calls were steadily increasing to the big island since their return, going from about 50 port calls last tourist season to more than 70 scheduled this tourist season -- an increase of more than 70 percent.

"This week alone we will have more than 12,000 visitors with four calls," Doty said.

While it is difficult to estimate the dollar amount, Doty said an estimate of $100,000 spent per port call would be very conservative. And more than a dozen new, locally owned businesses have sprouted up specifically catering to cruise passengers in some fashion since the return, she said.

The 1,258-passenger cruise ship Maasdam in Frederiksted Monday.

The return of ships has triggered an increase in flights to the island, too. While flight seats to St. Croix dropped from 5,500 in the 2007 season to about 5,200 in the 2008-9 winter season, this current 2009-10 season will see more flights by more airlines, with about 7,100 passenger seats flying in, she said.

While the news is good, especially in a climate of generally poor economic conditions, there is a lot to be done. There are still fewer than 1,000 hotel rooms on the island, for instance, and efforts to increase small hotels and bed and breakfasts -- along with trying to attract a big resort or two -- have not yet borne much fruit. Several speakers and senators highlighted areas of the island that need sprucing up, too.

Sen. Nereida "Nellie" O'Reilly showed slides of specific items to fix including an overflowing trash dumpster by the Comanche Hotel in Christiansted, brought to her attention because of complaints about the smell, and some rusty road signs near the airport. She asked V.I. Port Authority Executive Director Kenn Hobson what plans there were to spruce up the airport. Hobson said the signs belonged to V.I. Public Works, but he would communicate with them and make sure they were fixed. Hobson did not elaborate on airport improvements. While federal funding for airport projects has increased somewhat this year, due to the lifting of consent decrees against the neighboring Anguilla Landfill, the vast bulk of capital funding for airport improvements is slated for St. Thomas.

Robert Merwin, speaking in his role as a member of the St. Croix Taxi Association, said the Frederiksted Customs House, directly across from the cruise ship pier, was in disrepair and should be made a priority. Sen. Craig Barshinger, the committee chairman, spoke glowingly about Frederiksted's historic charm, bemoaning how derelict buildings detracted from what he thought was "one of, if not the, most beautifully laid-out towns in the Caribbean." He asked whether the properties could be fixed up by the government and the bill for repair given to the owners -- not to take control of the property, but to put a lien against them until the improvements were paid for.

Sen. Sammuel Sanes suggested students should be taught in school about the history of the buildings and historic landmarks in St. Croix's two main towns, saying many young men and women just see derelict buildings without knowing their history, so do not respect them.

David Jones, special assistant for special projects to Gov. John deJongh Jr., said there was legislation already on the books encouraging renovation by placing a moratorium on property-tax increases for five years after the improvements. The idea had been to at least avoid penalizing people with increased taxes as a direct result of their work to increase the value of the property. Jones suggested the moratorium could be increased to 10 or more years, to take away any disincentive to fix up the properties.

Recently acquired 24-seat air conditioned tour bus on St. Croix Monday.

Jones also said the island's transportation and other infrastructure was crucial for bringing in more visitors. Doty agreed, saying more than 400 visitors from each cruise ship promptly depart for Christiansted to shop upon their arrival, and getting them there and back efficiently and comfortably was a major concern for the cruise lines. The cruise lines had also insisted there be large, 24-seat, air-conditioned buses for guided tours, so the department arranged their procurement and these buses were now touring St. Croix with local drivers and experts from Crucian Heritage and Nature Tourism guiding the tours and talking to the visitors.

Jones approved, saying "this is a clear example of the kind of infrastructure we need to have in place in order to maximize the opportunities from the cruise ships."

No votes were taken and no bills debated before the fact-finding hearing. Present at various times were Barshinger, Sanes, O'Reilly and Sens. Neville James, Wayne James and Usie Richards.