More info needed on Sandals

They are questioning, what they say is, the secrecy behind the Sandals arrangement for Tobago.

At a symposium hosted by the Tobago Benchmark at the Buccoo Multi-purpose Facility, in Tobago, community activists, tourism stakeholders, attorneys at law and economists called for information on the proposed project to be made public.

The Tobago Division of the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce will not sit idly by according to its president Demi John Cruickshank.

He said his team will be going to get all the necessary data acquired in islands where Sandals already have operations.

“The problem in Tobago at this time is that everybody is speaking without the data,” Cruickshank said.

“We would travel to the destinations that have a Sandals resort and we would like to speak to the Chamber of Commerce, the Hotel Association, the environmental people, the taxi people.

That would take us a couple weekends.” Meanwhile, community activist and Speyside resident, Farley Augustine, explained that the Tobago experience, which includes the beaches, food and culture, is unique and one which, he said, that he would like all tourists visiting the island to be privy to.

“If Sandals can allow for that experience, well then fine, but I am very doubtful, very cautious, almost suspicious that Sandals won’t be able to provide that experience to the visitors.” President of the Tobago Hotel and Tourism Association (THTA), Chris James, delved into the past as he produced documents which, he suggested, proves that approvals were given to Angostura to build a much larger hotel in the same space.

“This has lapsed. But from an environmental point of view, I would be interested in the argument that people would come up with.

If this was passed for over 2000 rooms, how can they argue against 750?” James noted that whilst his views towards Sandals remain neutral, he is interested in the kind of development that would bring non-stop international flights to the island.