IT’S TIME FOR the Government of Barbados to get out of the hotel business.
But the sale of Hilton Barbados and a complete redevelopment of the area in and around Needham’s Point is a last opportunity to get it right, says one of the country’s most outspoken hoteliers.
Adrian Loveridge, the owner and operator of the Peach and Quiet Beach Hotel, believes the Needhams Point Peninsula is a gold mine waiting to be developed, and Government should not only sell the Barbados Hilton, but also the surrounding property so that a “world-class” conference centre, inclusive of a large hotel and other facilities, could be constructed there.
“I have no particular objection about Government wanting to sell off taxpayers’ assets in the hospitality industry,” Loveridge said in a recent interview when asked about the decision to put up the Barbados Hilton for sale. “I believe tourism should be a private-sector run business. The Government should really have no involvement, especially given the history of their involvement in the Gems of Barbados project with Hotel and Resorts Limited. It was an absolute disaster.” (BA)
Please read the full story in today’s Sunday Sun, or in the eNATION edition.
