SEVEN MONTHS AGO we recorded the closure of the Almond Beach Resort property at Heywoods, St Peter, which dealt a telling blow to the local tourism sector, given the loss of hundreds of rooms, jobs, service opportunities and investments.
A number of businesses have indicated an interest in the property and submitted their bids, but the developments related to the purchase have been virtually “off the radar” in recent months.
It was therefore good hearing last week, even if only from one of the bidders, that an announcement should soon be forthcoming. Hotelier Paul Doyle touched on the issue when he addressed the monthly luncheon of the Barbados Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
Understandably, the current owners, the Trinidadian conglomerate Neal & Massy, must do the necessary due diligence. However, time is of the essence as this vacant property is critical to the island’s overall hotel product offering.
In the middle of this month Barbados will officially start the 2012-13 winter tourism season, which has been described as very important by Government, which has indicated how much it is banking on a good performance.
Those sentiments have been echoed by Governor of the Central Bank Dr DeLisle Worrell and are held by a large number of people dependent on the sector, either directly or indirectly.
The four-month winter tourism season is the economic platform on which many of the hotels expect to survive for the following eight months of the year. It is the period when job creation should be at its peak, foreign exchange earnings hopefully increase dramatically and there is greater demand for both goods and services.
We want the country to reap good rewards from the many and varied marketing efforts by the various tourism stakeholders to draw more visitors to our shores. We recognize that these are difficult economic times worldwide and many of our source markets are going through turmoil, which in turn has dampened the demand for travel.
The reduction in arrivals from Britain, which is our biggest market, is perhaps the best example. Fortunately, the initial winter outlook for that market is optimistic, but we need to find ways to generate increased spend from all our visitors.
To support the marketing efforts, we must have the required properties. Already, the much anticipated Four Seasons project remains on hold while a few others are stalled. We rejoice in knowing that the Port Ferdinand project is on schedule and will add to the upper end of the market, but this will not fill the void created by the closure of the nearby Almond Village.
The situation surrounding the property at Heywoods is urgent. The decision-makers in Port of Spain at Neal & Massy need to decide – and quickly. It is a lifeline. After all, tourism is our business.
