PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC—The Trinidad and Tobago government said Thursday that discussions will be held early next week with the Jamaica-based Sandals Resort International to build a property in Tobago, six years after it pulled out of a similar project.
Prime Minister Stuart Young, speaking at the weekly post-Cabinet meeting, told reporters that a few weeks ago, his predecessor, Dr. Keith Rowley, had indicated he held talks with the chairman of the Sandals Group, Adam Stewart, and that “I am happy to tell the population…that Mr. Stewart has agreed to come and speak with myself, (Tobago House of Assembly) Chief Secretary Augustine Farley and other stakeholders in Tobago on Monday, the seventh…
“People of Tobago, in particular, this is a fabulous opportunity. We need to learn from past mistakes and not allow a few misguided naysayers to stop the potential development of the economy of Tobago.”
In January 2019, Sandals Resort International announced that it was withdrawing from the Tobago project, which was expected to be the resort group’s biggest undertaking ever.
The Sandals Resorts was expected to be a 750-room hotel on the controversial Buccoo Estate, known as No Man’s Land.
The government acquired the land as part of its efforts to recover a TT$15 billion (One TT dollar = US$0.16 cents) debt owed by CL Financial (CLF).
The then Sandal’s chief executive officer, Gebhart Rainer, explained the company’s decision to withdraw from the project, citing negative publicity as the main reason. Officials in Tobago had complained about the hotel destroying the ecosystem in the area.
Describing the situation as unfortunate, Ranier said Sandals considered it best to withdraw from this project and focus on other areas, given the “negative and ongoing publicity” surrounding it.
He described the decision to withdraw as “unfortunate,” adding, “The reason for the withdrawal…is the constant and ongoing negative publicity and media coverage that we have received over the last two and a half years since the inception of the project, which for us, as a global brand… is taking on a dynamic that we are not willing to carry on.”
Young told reporters that the government had just completed the construction of an international state-of-the-art terminal on Tobago and that he was looking forward to the meeting on Monday.
“We will have all the stakeholders there for the preliminary meeting,” Young said, adding that years ago, Sandals had also agreed to build a “Beaches” resort on Tobago in addition to the Sandals project and a Greg Norman-designed golf course.
“Unfortunately, we allowed that opportunity to slip away from us,” Young said, noting that the hotel’s presence in Tobago would significantly improve the economy.
“Look at what happened in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. It was a project that started after where we should have been and immediately increased airlift. It has led to all sorts of positives, including positive growth of the GDP (gross domestic product) of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
“So I am happy that what you are seeing is a government staying engaged with Mr. Stewart over the years….and we have that opportunity to engage with him again on Monday,” Young said.
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