Living the dream

The biggest perceived difference between the private and public sectors is the attention paid to profitability. The bottom line when running a private business is making money, while on the other side, it’s more about providing necessary services or pleasing the people. Profits tend to be an afterthought.

Born on the island of St. Thomas, Joseph Boschulte had forged a successful career in investment banking and tourism when he received a call from Albert Bryan, the newly elected ninth governor of the US Virgin Islands.

“He asked if I wanted to work for him as Tourism Commissioner,” Boschulte tells The CEO Magazine. “He said, ‘Tourism is critical to the local economy and we need somebody strong to lead it as we aim to move forward and higher. I need you.’”

Uncharted waters

Boschulte had spent five years as CEO of the West Indian Company, one of the largest cruise ports in the Caribbean. During that time, he’d brought the business back from the verge of bankruptcy and was winning most of the deals in the region.

Six years later, Boschulte has made the most of that opportunity by blending his private sector success with creativity and a human touch.

“We all need time to decompress. Being in tourism, we can provide the landscapes in which people can do that,” he says. “It’s a special thing and even more special when it’s families that are traveling.”

That’s not to say the job is a breeze. Enviable as a tourism role may seem, Boschulte says there’s a great deal of responsibility that comes with it.

“If tourism suffers, the territory suffers. But when tourism does well, the quality of the place is so much better,” he reveals. “Tourism represents 70 percent of the gross domestic product of the US Virgin Islands. It’s massive and our products provide opportunities for people all over the region.”

Memorable moments

Another motivator for Boschulte is finding out just what kind of difference his work makes to people’s lives.

“We create moments that take away a little bit of the stress of daily life,” he says. “When I’m standing in line at the airport, I’ll hear people talking about their vacation in St. Croix. We’ve made those memories for them, and I get that opportunity every day.”

Even better is the fact that Boschulte is promoting the virtues of his home.

“The blanket of the Caribbean is so intertwined,” he reflects. “Take the cuisine: you can have the same meals but with slight variations from island to island. It helps to know those little intricacies.”

It also helps to have local knowledge about eateries and hotels, which can lead to the kind of unexpected joys that truly make a holiday special.

“One thing I’ve found in my travels across the Caribbean is that looks aren’t everything,” he says. “You might walk into a restaurant and think, ‘Are we going to eat here?’ But when you walk out, it’s some of the best food and company you have ever had.

“The people are so warm and welcoming, and willing to talk about just about anything.”

Open to the world

Travelers love a sense of cultural immersion, and that’s something Boschulte and his team have made a point to showcase.

“They want to see and feel and live the way the locals do,” he explains. “Then, even a simple meal becomes a learning experience.”

The US Virgin Islands attract more than two million tourists annually – not bad for three small islands with a population under 90,000. According to Boschulte, the territory experienced record-breaking arrivals and cruise ship calls in 2023 and 2024, while trending toward another record-breaking year start in 2025.

“Air traffic is high, our cruise numbers are very strong. This is what you can achieve with the right talent, the necessary financial resources and the patience to allow the process to actually work,” he points out.

Often in tourism, stakeholders get nervous when results aren’t immediate. But Boschulte believes that patience pays off.

“We want people to see what we have and I think we’ve achieved that because we’re beating bigger countries with more hotel rooms and bigger budgets,” he says. “That makes me proud of my team and our territory.”

From taxi drivers to Transportation Security Administration workers, Boschulte says everyone has a part to play and that everyone in the business of tourism in the US Virgin Islands is of one accord.

“We all truly believe that we make a difference to people’s lives.”