Company: OIA
Filing Date: 2025-03-13
Form Type: 424B5
Source: 0001104659-25-023508
Chunk: 185

Company: Invesco Municipal Income Opportunities Trust
Filing Date: 2025-03-13
Form: 424B5
Chunk 185
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 Islands’ municipal securities, which may reduce the performance of a fund. The economy of the Virgin Islands has faced substantial fiscal challenges in recent years, including damage to infrastructure caused by natural disasters and widespread diseases, a high unemployment rate, a structural deficit, declining government revenues, and considerable unfunded pension and healthcare liabilities. The level of public debt in the Virgin Islands may affect long-term growth prospects and may make it difficult for the Virgin Islands to make full repayment on its obligations. Furthermore, the economic outlook in the rest of the United States remains uncertain. A future economic downturn in the United States could significantly impact the finances of the Virgin Islands and, therefore, its municipal securities. There can be no guarantee that economic and fiscal conditions in the Virgin Islands will improve or that future developments will not have a materially adverse impact on the finances of the Virgin Islands. Any deterioration in the Virgin Islands’ financial condition may have a negative effect on the value of the securities issued by the Virgin Islands, which could reduce the performance of a fund. Current Economic Climate.The impact of the pandemic on employment in the U.S. Virgin Islands was substantial. From February to May 2020, the Territory’s unemployment rate grew from 4.5% to 13.6% but has since fallen to 5.6% as of August 2022. Exports declined partially due to the unprecedented losses in travel and tourism. Tourism is the Territory’s primary export and the sector most impacted by the pandemic. The industry experienced a near halt to air leisure and business travel in 2020 and the cancellation of all cruise ship calls throughout most of 2020 and early 2021. Consequently, air visitors fell 35.1% in 2020 to 442,027 from 640,887 in 2019 before rebounding 96.7% to a high of 824,460 in 2021. Cruise passenger visitors plunged 69.3% to 442,027 in 2020 but began to recover in the second half of 2021 and by year’s end, reached 245,695— still about 82.9% below the 1.4 million cruise passengers in 2019. Businesses also spent less money on construction and equipment, triggering a 27.7% decline in private fixed investment. In addition, declining government spending from fading disaster response and hurricane recovery activities weighed on gross domestic product growth, decreasing that component by 4%. Imports fell 10.6%, reflecting declines in imports of goods, including