PHOTO: A National Guard airman overlooks St. Thomas. (photo via Flickr/The National Guard, Captain Michael O’Hagan)Even before Hurricane Irma struck its shores, the U.S. Virgin Islands were facing a crippling budget crisis. A credit downgrade, budget cuts and increased taxes all helped contribute to billions owed in unpaid debt.A bright spot, however, was the region’s tourism industry, which directly contributed some 13.3 percent of the territory’s total GDP. When factoring in indirect services, according to the WTTC, tourism actually accounted for nearly a third of the entire GDP.Massive DestructionBut that was before Hurricane Irma devastated some 70 percent of all infrastructure on popular St. Thomas, which receives the bulk of the USVI’s international visitors.While the loss of luxury accommodations can never compare, of course, to the loss of shelter, it is not just sun-seeking tourists that are affected by this decimated travel industry. Although it is early yet, the loss of hotels and resorts create a dire outlook for the $1.3-billion-dollar industry and the locals who rely on these jobs to put food on the table.Just how bad is the devastation?#IrmaHurricane2017#IrmaRelief#USVI St.Thomas AIRPORT pic.twitter.com/eePmx53cGA— Iceleg (@Iceleg) September 10, 2017One local publication, the Virgin Islands Free Press, predicts it will take nearly a decade for the islands to fully recover.To put it another way, Beverly Nicholson-Doty, the Commissioner of Tourism for the USVI has asked visitors to avoid the area."To ensure everyone's safety, we are requesting the postponement of all scheduled visits to St. Thomas and St. John," said Nicholson-Doty in a recent press release.The situation is less urgent on St. Croix, where all airports and seaports are open and operational."The island of St. Croix did not receive the full brunt of the storm and the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix receives its first commercial flight (JetBlue Airways from San Juan) today," said Nicholson-Doty.READ MORE: Surviving Irma: ‘We Are Caribbean People, We Are Strong’Will USVI be Overlooked?According to a fact sheet distributed by the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Virgin Islands welcomed more than 2.6 million visitors in 2015. Of that number, some 640,000 people were overnight visitors, spread between the 3,842 hotel rooms on St. Thomas and St. John and the 1,217 hotel rooms in St. Croix.More than 2.1 million visitors arrived via cruise ships, with the USVI welcoming more than 600 ship calls in a single year.Today, some of those cruise ships are racing to the Caribbean to rescue those affected by the hurricane, including visitors and the most severely impacted residents of St. Thomas and St. John. But as they start to resume regular service, most of them will avoid St. Thomas as it rebuilds, instead sending those 2 million visitors—and their much-needed tourism dollars—to other Caribbean ports.As cash-strapped USVI starts the task of rebuilding, a rippling concern among the island residents is a feeling that they’ve been ignored by the media.One particularly thorny issue has been the widespread reporting that the “first U.S. landfall” of Hurricane Irma occurred on Sunday morning at Cudjoe Key, Florida, when in fact, the storm had battered the USVI—a U.S. territory home to more than 100,000 Americans—days before.  Dear CNN, STOP saying Irma made first US landfall in Florida! The USVI and Puerto Rico are in the US. Bless the US Citizens there. #Irma— Nancy Miller (@74gator) September 12, 2017“The news was just saying Irma wasn’t going to make contact with the U.S. until it hit Florida [when it was going through the Virgin Islands],” said Lauren Saia, in an interview with Mashable. The St. John resident, who was in Massachusetts when the storm hit her home, further said: “It just doesn’t make any sense. Now that Irma’s going to Florida, we’re basically just going to disappear.”Desperate residents even started a Change.org petition urging major media outlets—specifically ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC—to provide coverage for relief efforts.“Over 110,000 American citizens live in the United States Virgin Islands,” reads the text at Change.org. “The Islands of St. Thomas and St. John have suffered devastating destruction to their homes, businesses, restaurants, resorts and overall infrastructure.”“With little to no internet capabilities, no electricity and running water, as well as communication challenges, the residents have months and months of rebuilding ahead.”“Major news outlets and media sources have given intermittent, if any, coverage at all to this dire situation. Relief efforts are finally coming in, but more coverage of this situation is desperately needed.”READ MORE: Full Caribbean Tourism and Infrastructure Recovery ReportRelief EffortsThe U.S. government is sending aid and resources, according to a Department of the Interior press release, but many question why it has taken so long..“The Department of the Interior actions in the USVI are part of our responsibility for federal policy related to the U.S. territories,” said U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke in the statement.However, cautioned the press release, the loss of telephones and the communications infrastructure on St. Thomas is hampering relief efforts. As is the fact that virtually all of St. Thomas and St. John remain without power.USVI Governor Kenneth Mapp said it could be weeks before cell service and the internet are fully operational across the islands.Among its efforts, the Department of Interior has expedited an advance payment of $223 million for estimated FY 2018 rum excise tax collections, which will provide some much needed-money to help jump-start rebuilding efforts. Additionally, FEMA recently transferred 146,000 liters of water, nearly 443,000 meals and 56 rolls of tarps to the Virgin Islands National Guard to distribute.This is what we do. The U.S. Virgin Islands will not be forgotten. We are in this process together. #USVI#Irmapic.twitter.com/0Mu6Mv2x7n— Brock Long (@FEMA_Brock) September 12, 2017FEMA, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and the Army Corps of Engineers are also providing assistance and coordination of debris removal and search and rescue efforts.#IrmaHurricane2017#IrmaRelief#USVI St.Thomas, St.John & Water Island @MappPotter Gov. get some generator and huge lights 2 SHIFTS pic.twitter.com/RFrLpOdJBQ— Iceleg (@Iceleg) September 10, 2017President Donald Trump has promised to visit the USVI in the coming days. Also helping raise awareness of the plight of residents of the USVI are a number of celebrities with a connection to St. Thomas, like Kenny Chesney and Tim Duncan—who have both launched fundraising efforts.But there is still so much that needs to be done.      As the community starts the process of healing and rebuilding, they ask people to remember that Americans lives are at stake.                                                                                                                I'm deeply troubled that we have humanitarian crisis right now in the USVI and no one seems to understand there are American lives at stake!— Eli Cortes (@elicortes_pr) September 11, 2017If you’re looking to contribute to relief efforts, the Change.org petition recommends three reputable local charities: St. John Community Foundation, St. John Rescue, Inc and St. John Animal Care Center. Follow @MonicaPoling