In the summer of 2003, P J Patterson, then prime minister of Jamaica, hosted the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Heads of Government Conference in the scenic north coast resort city of Montego Bay, St James. As with all such high-powered meetings, relationships struck on the margins of the talks are often more lasting than the content of communiqués drafted from plenary sessions.

It would be the great fortune of Dr Ralph Gonsalves, prime minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, to meet the late great Gordon “Butch” Stewart of Jamaica, founder and chairman of Sandals Resorts International (SRI). Their friendship survived Stewart’s passing and continues to bear fruit today for the paradisal eastern Caribbean island.

As Gonsalves, now in his fifth term and the longest-serving prime minister of St Vincent tells it, he had heard and read much of the iconic Stewart in the years preceding their meeting and thought to himself, “This man could have been my father’s son. He was a hard and smart worker; disciplined, his manner unobtrusive; he was just about getting the job done.”

One night, at Patterson’s bidding, the Sandals chairman hosted the Caricom leaders on his yacht. Gonsalves, who would later describe Sandals as “a tribute to our Caribbean civilisation”, saw an opportunity and took it.

Dr Ralph Gonsalves, longest-serving prime minister of St Vincent and the GrenadinesJoseph Wellington

Gonsalves, then carrying the finance portfolio as well as, knew that wherever in the Caribbean Sandals went airline flights multiplied, the resort became the largest earner of foreign exchange, the largest private employer of labour, the top taxpayer, and generally the biggest contributor to the local economy.

“I told Butch about my vision for a Sandals resort in St Vincent and the Grenadines. That vision included building an international airport that could handle big carriers and commercial jets, as compared with the little turboprops that could land at the airport at the time.

“He said to me, ‘Ralph, when you finish the international airport, I’m coming.’ Our friendship blossomed from then, and it was clear he had fallen in love with St Vincent and the Grenadines on his visits to the country. I never left him alone, I can proudly state, and the dream of a Sandals resort would often be the centre of our conversations.”

It took 14 years from then to open the new Argyle International airport, on February 14, 2017, which involved relocation from the capital, Kingstown, because of no land space to accommodate the facilities of an international airport.

Governor General of St Vincent and the Grenadines Dame Susan Dougan and Acting Prime Minister Montgomery Daniel (right) are greeted by Jamaican Gary Sadler, executive vice-president for sales and industry relations at Miami-based Unique Vacations Inc, affiliate of the worldwide representatives of Sandals and Beaches Resorts at the Sandals STAR Awards 2024 to honour outstanding performance among travel advisors.

Finance Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines Camillo Gonsalves (left) and Executive Chairman of Sandals Resorts International Adam Stewart were happy to catch up at the recent Sandals STAR Awards event at Sandals St Vincent and the Grenadines. (Photos: Joseph Wellington)

“When Butch saw that, he said, ‘Ralph, I’m coming.’ Once we had agreed on the broad parameters of what a Sandals St Vincent would look like, we decided to leave it to our sons — Adam Stewart and Camillo Gonsalves, the current finance minister — to work out the details, and we gave it our blessings,” Gonsalves recounted to the Jamaica Observer.

Sandals St Vincent and the Grenadines had its soft opening in March 2024 under the leadership of Adam Stewart, now executive chairman and the man to whom his father handed over the reins of the Sandals empire in 2020, the year before his passing on January 4, 2021.

“I’m sorry that Butch did not live to see it. But he envisioned it, and I believe that we did justice to his vision,” said Gonsalves, his face a mask of satisfaction about the new hotel that he believes is “undoubtedly the most beautiful jewel in the Sandals crown and truly top of the line”.

Quite apart from the immediate benefit of having a large number of Vincentians hired by SRI during construction and dispatched across the Caribbean to be trained in the ways of Sandals, Gonsalves was beaming about a second benefit that brought great pride to his country.

St Vincent had committed to hosting 33 heads of state of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), also to be attended by the United Nations secretary general and representatives of major global blocs. He asked SRI and Codelpha from the Dominican Republic to complete the works in record time to host the CELAC event to be attended by 650 people.

“The Sandals soft opening was beamed from the CELAC meeting. It was a dream. They worked day and night to have the hotel ready. This Sandal company from Jamaica, working with people from Latin America on the basis of the genius of Butch Stewart. It was an extraordinary manifestation of Caribbean and Latin American civilisation,” Gonsalves beamed.

Among the many benefits brought by Sandals, the prime minister noted that 700-800 Vincentians were employed, projected to 1,000 by year end — the taxi operators taking guests and workers to the resort were Vincentians and the hotel consumes large amounts of fish.

“They are lifting standards in the tourism industry. People are realising that Sandals are not coming down to meet you. You have to step up. Our hoteliers are happy to have Sandals here. The Sandals effect is lifting all boats. We are already seeing a rise in the numbers. Last year, the economy grew by six per cent. Already this year it has grown by four per cent.

“The tourism industry on land is being substantially augmented since the arrival of Sandals. It’s moving the needle on the economy. Sandals is already driving airlift into St Vincent. The International Monetary Fund has just left a glowing report and part of that is based on the investment by Sandals.

“Thus far, it has been a wonderful experience. The St Vincentians working there are giving good testimony about it. The guests speak of the beautiful undulating valleys. The hills are joyful together behind Sandals,” said Dr Gonsalves.

He added that the way Sandals and the Government were working assiduously together to develop Buccament Bay, the community in which the resort is located, “is extraordinary”. Sandals would also be helping to develop the Grenadines where nine out of the 32 islands are inhabited.

“We have arguably the most beautiful sailing ground in the world. I know my friend Andrew in Jamaica [a reference to Prime Minister Andrew Holness] would not agree with me. They say that title belongs to Jamaica,” Gonsalves chuckled good-naturedly.