Minister of Finance, Camillo Gonsalves said that the 1,000 or so hotel rooms that are expected to open in St. Vincent over the next two years are a critical part of providing jobs.
The government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines is building a 250-room hotel in Mt. Wynne and a 93-room Holiday Inn Express and Suites at Diamond.
He said that the Mt Wynne hotel, the management deal of which is yet to be announced, will employ roughly two people per room on completion.
“I am not talking about the jobs in the construction phase which will be tremendous,” Gonsalves told a ceremony on Tuesday at which his government signed a US$50 million loan agreement with the Export-Import Bank of the Republic of China (Eximbank) for US$50 million, for hotel construction.
“So you are talking 500 employees at Mt Wynne and Peter’s hope and the facility at Diamond being a single block, not as many stars. They will employ another 75 or so people,” Gonsalves said.
He further stated:
“So you are talking about a number approaching 600 in the hospitality sector in the state-owned hotels and then you are talking a four or five-star hotel at Black Sands.”
Black Sands, which is being built by Canadian investors, broke ground in January 2017 and the first set of rooms are expected to open later this year.
“That is going to employ another 750 people and then you are talking about the Buccama Resort opening again,” Gonsalves said, of the resort, which has been closed since December 2016.
“That is going to employ another 100-plus people,” he said of the Buccament Bay Resort.
“So you are talking about over 1,000 rooms. Over 1,000 rooms, over 1,000 employees in the hospitality sector in very short order.
“I don’t have to explain how much of a boost that will be to economic activity, how much that will help to relieve some of the pressures on young people who are seeking employment in the hospitality sector and how much it will spur economic activity both in the Diamond area and on the leeward side of St. Vincent and the Grenadines,” Gonsalves said.
What the Finance Minister fails to tell us is why all this money needed to be borrowed and why the government is using it to build these two hotels.
Most informed people would certainly know that governments only build their own hotels if (1) they are socialist or communist countries where the state owns most of the means of production allegedly on behalf of the people or (2) the private sector is not interested in building such facilties, at least on the mainland, because they would not be profitable.
Despite his socialist pretentions, the Honourable Prime Minister, who is spearheading these projects, is desperate to fill the hole left empty by the capitalist world system that he eager to fill it withl more borrowed money destined to be bad-spent the way other tourism directed monies have been bad-spent.
This hotel is great idea but wrong location. Mount Twyne should be reserved for lodges and villas. The best option for this hotel is the Balcombe property in Indian Bay. This property was recently up for sale.
A hotel of this magnitude need to be close to the airport. There is not enough activities in Leeward at this stage for a hotel of such scale. One of the downside to this is, it is a very long winding drive. Mount Twyne should be part of the larger development plan with a different focus.
The Government should air mark from CSY to Arnos Vale for hotel development in the short term. A clear focus strategy is needed. If a developer wants to build elsewhere he can do so but the Government should at the very least encourage developers to build in these areas. This may mean acquiring properties from locals.
Would anyone want to stay in a hotel that looks like that unless it is US$15 a night including breakfast. It looks like a cricket pavilion from the 1920’s, this was a joke right?
People are also frightened to sleep in a wooden hotel in a forest because of fire risk.
Take a look at the face of young Gonsalves, he can hardly keep it straight, either it’s a joke or he can see the funny side of it as well.
I totally agree with Mr. Carr!! Too far, hotels need to be closer to the airport better atmosphere, I would not stay there regardless of how nice it is!
Hotel does not have to be located close to any airport . I would argue that most hotels around the world are not. Maybe people want to breathe fresh air instead of airplane exhaust. A visitor does not need the airport except for entry and departure. Most of their time would he spent in activities that have nothing to do with the airport. Despite all of that its suspicious that we were unable to attract a good hotel to build there instead if borrowing money again.
The government took nearly 10 years to complete the new medical clinic and asset in Georgetown, so how can they hope to complete the development of modern hotel complexes in 12 months and quite frankly the ratio of staff to hotel rooms are totally way off the mark in a modern hospitality environment, unless that is, we are reverting to a communist employment state.
THE SHORT ANSWER FOR COMPLETION IN 12 MONTHS IS SIMPLY THEY HAVE NO CHOICE BECAUSE OF THE DEMAND ….SHORTAGE OF SUPPLY IN DEMAND .
THE AIRPORT IS HERE TO STAY SO WE MUST DEAL WITH IT !!!!!!!!
WHETHER WE WANT TO OR NOT !!!!!!!!
Yes AL, We see that SVG has to fight-off all those people trying to get to SVG. The entire world wants to come here. All those planes are packed-full and the tourists have to stay in tents because there are no hotels rooms. The government built the most successful airport in the Caribbean and Barbados can’t compete. After plans to build an airport were announced the government was able to build it almost overnight. The world was astounded on how fast and how much under-budget it was achieved and we have become the leading tourist destination in all of the americas!…Wow!
Soon we be living in a country that is not own by us with all these loan and foreign investment another Judas with the money bag
Father and son Judas holding the money bag
Mr. Gonsalves is holding the wrong picture.