The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Minister of Tourism says the immediate fate of Freeport’s major hotels is still “waiting on Hutchison Whampoa” to provide confirmed repair and reopening dates.

Obie Wilchcombe told Tribune Business that the Government was “continuing to talk” to the Grand Lucayan owner and Sunwing, operator of the Memories resort, about their plans for the properties in order to bring 1,500 rooms back online as rapidly as possible.

Speaking to this newspaper from Canada, Mr Wilchcombe indicated that Hutchison Whampoa’s repair schedule depended on the fate of its Hurricane Matthew-related insurance claim.

“We’re waiting for Hutchison. They’ve got to give some dates. Memories have to give some dates, too,” Mr Wilchcombe said, adding that nothing was confirmed and all parties were still talking.

“We’re still looking at some things. There’s some things that have to be worked out. For the record, my response is that we’re continuing to talk to Hutchison and Sunwing in an effort to see what the insurance results are, and how quickly they intend to get to work on the properties.

“At all times we’re working to get the hotels re-opened as quickly as possible, and get those people back to work.”

K P Turnquest, the FNM’s deputy leader, recently told Tribune Business he had been informed by Memories staff that their employer had sent letters confirming a proposed re-opening date of May 2017, meaning the property will miss the whole winter season.

Between Memories and the Grand Lucayan, more than 1,500 rooms have been taken out of Grand Bahama’s hotel inventory, with both properties increasingly likely to miss the peak winter 2017 tourism season.

Meanwhile, Freeport’s beleaguered tourism sector continues to languish, with industry sources speaking on condition of anonymity telling Tribune Business that the situation is getting worse by the day.

One industry source told Tribune Business: “There’s so little activity, especially at Memories. You can drive there at 6pm and there’s not a light on in the place.

“In the day, there are a few cars there, but no one’s doing anything at all, which leads me to believe there’s something going on between Sunwing and Hutchison as to whose responsible for the repairs, and when they will start. It’s really awful; it’s like a ghost town.”

Another added: “The work has not even started on Memories yet; the repair work. It’s scary. It’s really bad. This island is really hurting. There’s no tourists; absolutely none.”

Those ‘doom and gloom’ accounts, though, were given before the Grand Celebration cruise ship returned to the island on Saturday, bringing with it some 1,300 passengers. Those who overnight will now stay at the Viva Wyndham Fortuna Beach Resort and at the Pelican Bay Hotel, rather than the Grand Lucayan.

Mr Wilchcombe, in a previous interview with Tribune Business, said the Christie administration had been trying to get Hutchison Whampoa to take “renewed interest” in Grand Bahama and its assets there.

After meeting with it in Hong Kong late last year, the Minister said the conglomerate had appointed a project manager to oversee the hurricane reconstruction, but was waiting to obtain the proceeds of an insurance claim before proceeding with repairs.