Hoteliers want more consultation on Sandals

While he voiced support for the Sandals Tobago project, Tobago Hotel and Tourism Association (THTA) president Chris James said the association’s main concern was the lack of “consultation and involvement” by the island’s various stakeholders.

In an e-mailed response to several questions last Friday, James said the project would “add to the range and quantity of rooms Tobago has to offer and that will increase visitor arrivals.”

The majority of members of the THTA welcomed the project, he said, because “it will attract additional airlift and add to the marketing thrust of Tobago.”

However, asked whether there were any objections to the project, which will see Sandals Resorts International adding approximately 700 rooms through its Sandals and Beaches brands, he said, “The main concern is the lack of consultation and involvement.

“The Tobago Tourism Agency Ltd has just launched our new brand and logo and has presented to the THTA a three-year plan charting the way forward as we work together to create a sustainable tourism industry in Tobago.

“Sandals will be an important element and we need to make sure that the whole of Tobago benefits from the growth of tourism on the island.”

James said tourism was not just hotels and guest accommodation, but encompassed an entire sector which required “tour guides, dive operators, taxis and farmers, fishermen, retail, everyone.”

Collaboration was needed, he said, “So that we can mobilise and be ready with all the skills and all the opportunities understood so that Tobago can achieve maximum benefit from the growth in the industry.

“I know the Grenada Sandals employs 95 per cent local staff and St Lucia 98 per cent, plus they buy as much locally as those islands can produce.”

On concessions to the group, he said while they vary from island to island in the Caribbean, TT offers tax-free concessions on imported goods for construction and commercial equipment not produced here, as well as a tax-free period as the hotel establishes itself.

“The concessions are there to attract both foreign and local investment to reduce the risk of investment,” he said. “It is another area where competition is fierce as every country in the world wants investment.”