Rosemarie Sant
Another International hotel chain is interested in investing in Tobago but Secretary of Finance in the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Joel Jack says he is unable to give details on the prospective investor at this time. He is hoping to be in a position to do so by the end of the year.
He is also assuring that the THA is willing to help businesses affected by the collapse of the seabridge which he admitted led to some “fallout.”
One day after he presented Tobago’s TT$4.7 billion budget, Jack made the media rounds in Trinidad, where he again spoke of the Sandals and Beaches Resort as a “game changer” for Tobago.
He made it clear that “nothing has been signed off formally as yet,” but he said just the prospect of the international brand name coming to this country should spark positive interest. “The potential to earn foreign exchange and job creation,” are some of the pluses, he said.
He noted that in Grenada, Sandals had “transformed the agricultural sector,” and added additional airlift. “It will benefit a number of hoteliers,” he said.
Jack said Tobago has a room stock of between 2500 to 3500 rooms and while Sandals will not take care of it all, “750-850 is what is projected so we will still have a gap.”
He said there is now a lot of interest by international investors as “other hotel chains are talking with us.” Jack declined to say who they are “because the discussions are preliminary.”
His anticipation is that “at least another major hotel chain” will be coming to Tobago. Jack said, “I am hoping by the end of the year I will be able to make a more definitive pronouncement on some of those deals.”
Jack said an analysis of the economic data in the past year shows there was a “marginal decline of 1.8 per cent in GDP year on year” and a reversal is expected next year.
He admitted there had been a decline in both the tourism and construction sectors. Domestic tourist arrivals, he said, had declined because of the seabridge, and although it was mitigated by Caribbean Airlines, he expects things will get better when the Galleons Passage arrives in mid-July.
Admitting there had been “some fallout as a result of challenges on the seabridge,” Jack said discussions had been held with the Tobago business community to get a sense of the monetary value of the collapse of the seabridge. “There are some estimates bandied about by the Chamber of a TT$700 million fallout,” he said.
He said at a recent meeting with the business community “we said we will like to work with them and see the data. We are awaiting details from the Chamber on the magnitude of the problem.”
Jack explained that because the Board of Inland Revenue is also in the Division of Finance, “we have a sense of the challenges and we are willing to work with them.”
He said the Chamber had given an estimate of 34 businesses closing. “And we have asked them to come sit with us and present us with a formal plan. We are prepared to work with the private sector to create an enabling environment for the business community to succeed.,” he said.
To this end he said the THA met with the Bankers Association on complaints from the business community that they were not getting access to credit and funding and that the bankers are levying on them.
Jack said, “When we met with the Bankers Association they were saying that contrary to the reports that we received, they were not in the business of foreclosing in terms of selling real estate and that they were willing to help their customers as far as possible.”
However, business owners told the T&T Guardian that as recent as three weeks ago at least 10 businesses in Tobago were served with foreclosure letters from the banks.
Jack said issues affecting the Tobago business community will be further discussed at further meetings with the Bankers Association,.
Chairman of the Tobago Division of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce Claude Benoit admitted that the THA had asked for documentary evidence of the losses and impact of the sea and airbridge problems on the Tobago business sector.
He said a report is now being compiled by economist Dr Vanus James for presentation to the THA. Benoit said the Chamber is still looking at the overall packaged presented before it responds.
Jack, who on Monday presented a TT$4.7 billion budget for Tobago, said the figure included the allocations of $70 million to URP and $54 million to CEPEP.
The $4.7 billion request, he said, is predicated on the bill now before the Joint Select Committee of Parliament to give greater autonomy to Tobago and which proposes to give Tobago eight per cent of the national budget. —Rosemarie Sant