Kingstown, St Vincent and the Grenadines — The return of the annual Sandals STAR Awards after five years was all the buzz, but the biggest question was, ‘Has the spanking new Sandals St Vincent and the Grenadines surpassed all others in the Caribbean’s leading resort chain?”

After all, Sandals had promised that each new resort would be better than the last. And when it was thought that Sandals Dunn’s River near Ocho Rios, Jamaica, could not be beat, suddenly questions are being asked about St Vincent in the Eastern Caribbean.

Last Monday, Sandals flew in hundreds of travel advisors by charters to wine and dine them over a week for being top performers in vacation sales; and while they awaited the glitzy affair which unfolded Thursday, all anyone could talk about were the wonders of the 50-acre property, nestled in a valley watched over by rainbows, boasting a sunset fit only for postcards, and scenery that seem to leap from the pages of a glossy, high-end magazine.

The moment would undoubtedly also belong to Adam Stewart, the Sandals Resorts International (SRI) executive chairman, appearing for the first time since assuming the helm of SRI, and succeeding his late great father, Gordon “Butch” Stewart, who passed on January 4, 2021.

For those who had seen how Butch Stewart, the Sandals founder, moved like a rock star among the travel advisors — previously known as travel agents — it was easy to conclude thatthe love had passed from father to son.

Every sighting of the young executive chairman on the sprawling property was greeted by a deluge of requests for photo ops, selfies and congratulatory hugs. Adam Stewart obliged with the ease and energy he is rapidly becoming known for.

St Vincent and the Grenadines Tourism Minister Carlos James was effusive in thanking the Jamaican-owned SRI and its leadership for the prize that his Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves had landed.

Unable to mask his pride, James hardly needed to tout the resort which had a soft opening in March this year, in time to host 33 heads of State of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), attended also by the United Nations secretary general and representatives of major global blocs.

Still he did, pitching to over 500 in attendance at a business review session which was one of the activities marking the week-long event:

“What really sets St Vincent and the Grenadines apart from the other islands, and we came to the conclusion, it is one of the last remaining islands with a soul. You can feel it. You can feel the pulse. You can feel the people.

“We’re not here to do sun, sea and sand, always-lie-on-the-beach tourism. We’re here to do adventure tourism, soft tourism — it’s the gastronomy, the culture, the passion and people. Just a big representation of our product. We want you to feel and be a part of the destination when you visit.”

Putting the Sandals investment in perspective, James told the travel advisors that as soon as the country had started to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, it was hit by a volcanic eruption, followed immediately by a tropical storm that ravaged the economy.

“When you sell an airline ticket or you sell a room, you’re putting monies in the pockets of taxi operators, jewellery makers, vendors, fisher folk, farmers, ordinary people who depend on us, so that they can make a living as our economy develops. We survive mainly now due to tourism,” he said.

“It’s a strategic partnership with Sandals, travel advisors, the hoteliers on island, the Government. It’s a strategic call to action to ensure that we recover and to ensure that our economy remains viable.”

Stewart, the keynote speaker at the same session, said that people asked him all the time what he did as executive chairman.

“All I really do is follow my father’s footprints, his belief in the power of people and those relationships and the degree to which we can keep that ecosystem on fire, to which we can keep this extraordinary travel industry and what it does for the Caribbean connected on fire.”

Devoting a considerable part of his address to his homeland Jamaica, Stewart said the island was safe for visitors and lauded efforts to make it even safer.

“Today, Jamaica is at a 22-year low of criminal activity. Let me put it in math. Three million Americans travelled to Jamaica a year and there are 56 infractions. Two thirds of the 56 are Jamaicans and the rest are Americans who were doing nefarious things that they shouldn’t.

“That statistically boils down to point 0.2 per cent of harm against visitors, making it one of the safest places in the entire world. The Government of Jamaica has tripled funding to our armed forces in the last five years.

“All I can tell you is do not give up on Jamaica. We need your support for this beautiful country of Jamaica.”

The SRI boss spoke of big plans for the Jamaican resorts, including far-reaching renovations now underway. “Every piece of these hotels, one by one, is being invested in and they’re being elevated to a level that you’re going to walk into the rooms and I promise you we’re going to take your breath away.

“They’re getting bigger, the services are becoming more bespoke. The gastronomical experience is elevated. We’re moving to locations that quite frankly, no one on the planet owns real estate like we do. My father bought real estate 25 years ago that we still have not built on.”

He teased the Dragon Bay site in Portland which has been mothballed for years, saying it is probably one of the top three sites owned by Sandals.

“It’s accessible now. We’ve been waiting honestly for years because the Government of Jamaica is building a highway while they’re building them all over the country. But they’re building one from Kingston to Port Antonio to take one hour and 20 minutes in a car that used to take three hours.

“We now have a new flight direct [American Airlines] into Ian Fleming International Airport near Ocho Rios, St Ann. It is a two-minute drive to Beaches Ocho Rios; a 12-minute drive to Sandals Ochi; and a 24-minute drive to Sandals Dunn’s River. It is a game changer for your customers.”

Also addressing the business review session were: Gebhard Rainer, CEO of SRI; Zane Kirby, president and CEO of the American Society of Travel Advisors; Jeff Clarke, president of Unique Vacations Inc (UVI), affiliate of the worldwide representatives of Sandals and Beaches resorts; Gary Sadler, executive vice-president for sales and industry relations at UVI; and Trevor Sadler, CEO of Inter-Caribbean Airways.