What should have been a one-hour presentation by the Sandals Beaches and Resorts team to Tobago stakeholders, turned into a three-hour long conversation at the Coco Reef Resort and Spa yesterday.
The Sandals group, led by Sandals CEO Adam Stewart, met with a team of Tobago stakeholders led by the minister with direct responsibility for the Sandals project in the Cabinet, Stuart Young, and THA Chief Secretary Orville London.
Speaking to the media following the closed door meeting, Stewart said the discussions were still in the early stages but described them as fruitful.
“We were invited, we flew on the helicopter, we looked at a piece of land that blew us away. Tobago went down the list from being a Sandals priority to top of the list and we are exploring what could become a major economic catalyst in the island of Tobago, known as Sandals Beaches and Resorts,” he said
Stewart, who is the son of Sandals chairman Gordon “Butch” Stewart, said the arrangement had come after a promise made by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley long before he became PM and he was happy Rowley had kept his word.
“We were in the middle of a major marketing thrust in the North American markets, he was insistent that we found the time, we did it quickly in between...been all over then we came here, we loved what we saw, the reception, the professionalism of the Government and we physically loved the property that we looked at, so it didn’t take long for us to come back,” he said
Also addressing the media, Young said the project was well received and would be beneficial to Trinidad and Tobago, especially with the diversification of the economy
“We want to stress and emphasise at this point that it is a conversation that is taking place. We have not gotten down in the details and the negotiations and nothing is written in stone. ... This is the beginning of the conversations that we intend to take to the people of Tobago and to the other stakeholders. At this stage, we are in the early stages but we are very, very positive about what can come out and we are very energised about all the good that can come to Tobago and by extension, Trinidad.”
But one of the stakeholders, Patricia Turpin, president of Environment Tobago, described the meeting as a ‘fantastic sales pitch’ by Sandals, since the relevant questions remained unanswered. She said a plan presented in the last ten minutes of the meeting resembled a previous application for a Certificate of Environmental Clearance (CEC) dating back to 2005.
She said since the announcement earlier this year by Rowley that Sandals was coming to Tobago, no one has ever met or consulted with Tobago environmentalists or any of the environmental groups on the island
“The transparency towards the project has been nil, so we have never had questions answered and we would like some answered and I believe it is not going to happen until we get that plan in hand,” she said.