The U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism is taking steps to market the territory’s tourism offerings to travelers in Texas.

Commissioner of Tourism Beverly Nicholson-Doty reported that recent visits to Dallas and Houston helped generate greater awareness about the destinations of St. Croix, St. John and St. Thomas.

“In the past year, we welcomed more than 30,000 from the Lone Star State and we look forward to building on this momentum with targeted initiatives in the marketplace,” said Commissioner Nicholson-Doty.

Next week, members of the Department of Tourism–along with representatives from the private sector–will meet with travel agents, meeting planners and Virgin Islands Tourism Ambassadors in Houston and Dallas, as part of a four-day sales blitz.

Along with New Jersey, Massachusetts, Florida and New York, Texas is one of the top five domestic markets for the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Commissioner Nicholson-Doty said that she is hopeful that visitor arrivals will continue to grow this summer with new nonstop United Airlines flights from Houston to St. Thomas four days a week, as well as daily flights from Washington Dulles.