PRIME Minister Dr Keith Rowley doesn’t mask his eagerness to have Sandals Resorts International invest in Tobago.

“It’s a project that we are very keen to get going,” the Trinidad and Tobago head of Government told the

Jamaica Observer at a function in his honour at Vale Royal in Kingston Wednesday night.

“Fortunately, the Sandals people are prepared to work with us and are also keen to do the job,” he added.

Dr Rowley spoke about the planned Sandals and Beaches resorts on the island during an interview in which he discussed trade and immigration matters that were the focus of his five-day visit to Jamaica, which ended yesterday.

Last month, news emerged that Rowley had invited the luxury all-inclusive Sandals chain to take its hotels to Tobago as he and his Government were convinced that the world-renowned brand could bring significant benefits to the tourism potential in Tobago.

The invitation resulted in a proposal to build a 300-room Sandals resort and a 520-room Beaches property on the island known for its biodiverse tropical rainforest and wide beaches.

The move to enhance Tobago’s tourism product, Rowley told the

Observer on Wednesday, was part of his Government’s desire to expand and diversify the economy of the twin-island republic.

“At the moment you know we are heavily dependent on oil and gas, and we’re having reductions in production because we’re an aged environment,” Rowley explained. “We also are seeing a whole lot of other competitors coming into the market and we’re also seeing suppression in prices, so if we’re to maintain our income at the standard and to grow it, we need to do more outside of the hydrocarbon sector, and we’re focusing on the tourism sector, and Tobago is the perfect canvas on which to paint that picture.”

Added Rowley: “Sandals is a world brand; fortunately it’s a Caribbean brand, and they’re willing to work with us, and Tobago is the last of the Caribbean islands to be exposed to the world in this way and we’re very excited about that.”

He said that the construction phase of the properties will create approximately 2,500 jobs “and on completion we’re looking at approximately 750 rooms; if you multiply that by the number of jobs per room you’ll see it’s a significant project”.

Sandals estimates that when the resorts are up and running they will create 1,800 direct jobs and will also provide indirect employment to taxi drivers, tour operators and farmers who will benefit from Sandals’ policy of working with them on production volumes and buying local produce for guests.

Tobago will also most likely experience an increase in airlift due to the presence of the Sandals and Beaches brands, while attractions on the island will benefit from Island Routes, the resort chain’s sister company, that sells tours at the highest conversion ratio in the industry.

Another major benefit that Island Routes provides is that it pre-sells tours long before customers arrive in the island.

In addition, the presence of the Sandals and Beaches brands will further enhance Tobago’s profile among travel agents and tour operators worldwide who are large travel suppliers.

— Vernon Davidson

— Vernon Davidson