Islands: St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix.
Cruise ships: The U.S. Virgin Islands -- especially St. Thomas -- rank as the Caribbean's third most-popular cruise stop after the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands. About 1.2 million cruise ship passengers stopped in 2009, down 12 percent from 2008. In January, 76 cruise ships paid a call, down from 89 in 2008.
Overnight visitors: About 600,000 visitors came from January through November 2009, down 3.3 percent from 2008. The Virgin Islands have fewer overnight visitors than Jamaica or the Dominican Republic. The average length of stay is 4.1 nights.
Hotels: Occupancy rate January-August 2009 was 58.7 percent (65.6 percent in St. Thomas; 38.8 percent on St. Croix).
Hurricanes: Nothing major since 1998, when Georges sank 35 boats in Charlotte Amalie Harbor. But Marilyn devastated St. Thomas in 1995, and Hugo flattened most of St. Croix in 1989. All things considered, the islands are incredibly resilient. Hurricane season is June 1 through Nov. 30, with the most activity seen in September.
Flights: The number of flights to St. Thomas rose 9 percent in 2009 over 2008. The islands spent $3 million in marketing initiatives to encourage new flights and tourism.
Sources: Caribbean Tourism Organization; Smith Travel Research; USVI Bureau of Economic Research; Travel Weekly.
