The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce's president yesterday said "any option is worth considering" to re-open the Grand Lucayan given its status as Freeport's "game changer".

Mick Holding acknowledged that with hundreds of jobs and businesses dependent on the property, the Government might have to acquire it "as a last resort". But he warned against "a quick fix that becomes a failure" on the basis this would do nothing to improve the island's economy.

Speaking as the prime minister's press secretary confirmed that the Wynn Group's $70m bid to acquire the Grand Lucayan had been rejected by the Government as "unacceptable", Mr Holding said it was unclear how much longer tourism-reliant businesses can survive as the hotel enters its 22nd month of closure.

"All I would say at this stage is that the island needs that resort; the jobs, the businesses, many of whom are Chamber members, that are reliant on that," he told Tribune Business. "They have been hanging on for 20-odd months since the resort closed after Hurricane Matthew.

"I think we could see further business closures if it went on for a third winter. There are a lot of businesses that managed to hang in there, but how long they can continue...... a third missed winter might kill them. Every month that goes by makes it much harder for them to hang in there, and some businesses have already closed."

Mr Holding added that if no private sector buyer emerges, the Government may have no choice but to deliver on promises to intervene and purchase the Grand Lucayan itself for "the sake of the local economy".

"There's more at stake than the hotel itself," he told Tribune Business. "There's hundreds of jobs, probably thousands of jobs, and a lot of other dependent businesses. Any option is worth considering for the sake of the local economy. The economy needs something; all options should be considered.

"There are a lot of good things happening on the island, but in the tourism sector this [the Grand Lucayan] is the major player. We have the Costa, the second cruise vessel with the Celebration, GIBC Digital. There are other things that are picking up, but the game changer will be the hotel. That's the thing."

Mr Holding, though, cautioned against any efforts to re-open the Grand Lucayan that were unlikely to be sustainable over the long-term. "The important thing is that whatever happens, it's successful," he emphasised. "It's not a quick fix that becomes a failure."

The Prime Minister confirmed at the weekend that the Government "will intervene and, if necessary, purchase the Grand Lucayan" if no buyer is found within the next 30 days, amid suggestions that Cheung Kong Properties, its current owner, may close the last remaining property - the Lighthouse Point - some time in September.

The Prime Minister's remarks at a meeting of Free National Movement (FNM) Grand Bahama branches at the weekend, coupled with K P Turnquest, deputy prime minister, revealing that the resort's fate will be determined "30 days from now", merely confirm the growing uncertainty over whether a private sector buyer will emerge before time runs out.

The Grand Lucayan's fate has effectively come full circle in 12 months, for it was last August when Dr Hubert Minnis suggested the Government may take an equity stake in any acquisition of the resort.

That arrangement, based on his remarks, is now squarely back on the table with the clock set firmly against the Government. Unless an acquisition is completed imminently, Freeport's "anchor" property - and, by extension, the city's entire stopover visitor industry - run the considerable risk of missing out on a third peak winter tourism season.

One Freeport businessman, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Government was effectively back at the start and "time has been wasted" - almost an entire year - because it "kept playing" with the Wynn deal it inherited from the former Christie administration.

Questioning why the Government could not see Wynn was unlikely to close the deal, when many outside observers could, the source said a vertically-integrated tour operator, travel agent and resort operator - similar to the Memories/Sunwing combination - was what Freeport required to re-establish itself on the tourism map.

"The country is broke but they can't let Freeport die," they added. "We have hundreds of Bahamian families here who are going to lose their homes and can't put bread on the table. These are the real stories. Many have already left to go to Bimini, Abaco and Nassau. We've lost over 10,000 people. It's a tragedy, built up over a long time."