Sandals and the Tourism Takeoff

There was a time that for many of us in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), tourism was not seen as pivotal to our economic development thrust. We seemed to have settled for being an agricultural country, especially at the height of the green-gold bubble, with some concessions to the foreign enclaves in the Grenadines and an official admiration for Young Island.

It is true that circumstances helped to contribute to that outlook, especially constrained as we were by the deficiency in air accessibility. We had almost reached the stage where we considered tourism as being suited for the Grenadines while on the mainland we should continue with our agricultural thrust.

The last quarter of the 20th century forced us to revisit that narrow thinking. First there was the damage to our agricultural export industry occasioned by new global trade arrangements imposed on us. Many rural producers and workers were forced out of agriculture to seek employment elsewhere. Yet it was impossible for them to be absorbed into meaningful employment without the opening of new horizons.

The opportunity came with the vision to construct an international airport and the tenacity to see it through. Bit by bit the bottlenecks began to disappear as air access made tourism even more of a viable proposition, completely compatible with agricultural production. Suddenly international hotel chains began looking at our country for new opportunities and experiences.

The internationally renowned Sandals Resorts is the best example of this. Having expanded beyond its Jamaica base to a number of other Caribbean territories, St Vincent and the Grenadines was chosen for its latest investment in the Caribbean. The site chosen was one previously engaged by a foreign operation which ended in abject failure and in court cases. Sandals must be praised for ignoring the negative publicity in pursuing the Buccament initiative.

It has opened a whole new world to our people in international tourism. First there has been the double emphasis on recruiting and training, not just for employment in the local operation but as part of what is called “the Sandals family”. Currently Sandals is conducting an Employment Fair, interviewing and recruiting workers at all levels of the operations. Though there have been reports of a slightly disappointing turnout, the reasons for which are unknown to us, the Fair is providing opportunities for many Vincentians, unemployed or currently employed elsewhere, with new opportunities in the tourism sphere.

There is also a positive spin off in the economy by providing much needed revenue for small hotels, service providers in many areas such as caterers and landscapers. So, in addition to jobs to be provided in time for the planned opening early 2024, our economy is being given a welcome boost.

Even as we look forward to this seminal venture, it is important that we all prepare ourselves to be able to take full advantage of such opportunities by lifting our game at all levels.