Sandals Resort, St Vincent will offer a newness to tourism (+ video)

The Sandals Resort which is being constructed in Buccament is going to be second to none, and is expected to exponentially boost visitor arrivals to this multi-island state.

This was the consensus of a team of Sandals upper management personnel who visited the construction site on Thursday, June 29.

An entity called Unique Vacations, the marketing body for Sandals and Beaches Resorts said the team is “very excited” about the possibilities that the facility brings to Sandals Resorts International (SRI).

Gary Sadler, executive vice president of sales and industry relations for Unique Vacations, made his first visit to the site on Thursday and said he immediately fell in love with the location.

“First of all it is just an amazing, amazing destination. For me, whatever I saw in the brochures, whatever I saw in the pictures, certainly it is not what it is because being on site is just absolutely fantastic,” Sadler told SEARCHLIGHT on Thursday.

He said Unique Vacations manages airlift to the destinations they represent and they work with the governments to promote the destination. Unique Vacations also meets with travel industry representatives, facilitating visits to resorts to see how best they can sell it.

“… We literally have to now recalibrate the destination as something absolutely different,” Sadler said, while noting that every destination is unique, but St Vincent’s Sandals’ location is phenomenal.
Sadler said when he thinks about all the islands in which Sandals operates in the Caribbean, “you will never find a destination in a valley with two beautiful mountains…”.

He said the destination has a simplicity, a newness to tourism and that is always a benefit.

“Always a benefit because there are destinations throughout the Caribbean that I personally believe are major tourist destinations, and some visitors don’t want that.

“Some visitors are not looking for the major tourism destinations where there are 50,000 hotels, they are looking for something that is just quaint, that is just different, that is just picturesque, as far as they are concerned and that is what I believe St Vincent has to offer right now- immediately, just by me spending the first four hours on the island, the destination.”

Sadler said the marketing for Sandals, St Vincent, started the minute he landed here and posted a social media photograph saying he is on island.

He said that during a resort opening in Jamaica, Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves, and Finance Minister Camillo Gonsalves, were there and had a meeting with the president of Air Canada and that airline made the commitment right away that they would put on four flights to SVG for Winter.

“It was just the work of Minister Gonsalves and Prime Minister Gonsalves just by sitting down with not just Air Canada, but also American Airlines who had a top representative there as well,” Sadler noted.
He added that sellers are raring to go for an opportunity to start selling the destination which is expected to open next year.

During Thursday’s visit to the US$100 million plus facility, the construction site received scrutiny from among others, Minister of Finance Camillo Gonsalves; executive chairman of Sandals Resorts International and Beaches Resorts Adam Stewart; chief executive officer (CEO) Gerhard Rainer; chief administrative officer (CAO) Jordan Samuda; chief operating officer (COO) Shawn Dacosta; Managing director St Lucia, Grenada and SVG Winston Anderson; and Group director of technical services, Eugene Stall.

Minister of Finance Camillo Gonsalves (second from right) and Sandals Resort top brass discuss construction

Executive chairman Stewart, said the Resort, when finished, will be one of the most extraordinary hotels ever developed in the Caribbean.