The Tourism Department announced Thursday that Development Counsellors International will be its new marketing communications representative.
"We are excited with the outcome of the extensive selection process which placed DCI ahead of 23 other agencies who bid for the USVI account,” Tourism Commissioner Beverly Nicholson Doty said in a press release.
"DCI’s extensive experience in the tourism space will bring a new level of strategic insight to marketing across all industry segments," she said.
The company replaces MBooth, and Tourism spokesman Allegra Kean-Moorehead said that MBooth did not bid for the contract.
Kean-Moorehead said that the two-year contract runs $1.9 million, which she said was a 50 percent savings over the MBooth contract. It includes the agency fees, media hosting, film promotion, sales events and sponsorships, she said.
The New York-based DCI will work with the territory’s global tourism representatives to leverage the territory’s "You, Unscripted" market positioning. According to Tourism, it communicates how visitors can create their own unique vacation experience within the destination.
DCI will focus on increasing awareness of the territory’s tourism experiences among consumers through media relations, consumer promotions and film projects. Additionally the agency will pursue meetings and incentive buyers, advancing the selection of the territory as a meeting and incentive location.
The firm will also support the Virgin Islands sales team in initiatives focused on enhancing existing relationships with operators, airlines and travel agents.
The agency will work in collaboration with the territory’s advertising agency, JWT, and Marketplace Excellence, the public relations agency responsible for Caribbean and Diaspora media relations.
Since DCI’s beginning in 1960, the firm has assisted more than 400 countries, regions, provinces and cities drive tourism and investment. DCI’s New York office is responsible for growing U.S. outbound visitor arrivals for such destinations as California, Dubai and Namibia.
