The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS 

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

THE government continues to move the “goalpost” on the resale of the Grand Lucayan property, Senator Michael Darville suggested yesterday.

Addressing Grand Bahama’s financial prospects heading into the holiday season, Mr Darville claimed the Free National Movement continues to pitch news of improvement, but in reality, there has been nothing to signal any true advancement for the sale of the property.

“The situation with the Grand Lucayan is that the goalpost continues to shift as the Free National Movement gives us a date, then a next date, a next date and a next date,” he told reporters yesterday.

“We are waiting patiently on the island of Grand Bahama to see some real economic growth and changes take place so that the residents can be able to support their families and those in the tourism sector can see some real growth,” he added.

“I am waiting patiently like the residents of Grand Bahama for the government to come up with the definitive plan for the Grand Lucayan resort and to demonstrate the urgency to purchase the resort will turnout to be beneficial to the residents, particularly those in the tourism sector.”

His comments come on the heels of the Central Bank of the Bahamas’ Monthly Economic and Financial Developments October 2018 report, which was published on December 3.

The report showed a more than three percent increase in stop-over visitors to Grand Bahama, marking improvement in the island’s tourism sector.

The report was subsequently picked up and lauded by Free National Movement officials as proof that its Grand Bahama strategies and policies have been effective.

“The government’s efforts have resulted in improvement in the tourism sector in Grand Bahama during the year-to-date 2018,” State Minister for Grand Bahama Kwasi Thompson said in a recent press statement.

The junior minister stated the report indicated in Grand Bahama, “Despite the ongoing challenges in room capacity after the closure of several hotels due to hurricane damage, stopover visitors to Grand Bahama firmed by 3.5 percent on a year-to-date basis, a reversal from the prior period’s 39.5 percent plunge.”

He further noted the report indicated a significant increase in online vacation rental bookings.

Mr Thompson said that in fact, Grand Bahama had showed a 44.2 percent increase which reflected the largest increase in the country.

In November, Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar suggested the government’s acquisition of the Grand Lucayan hotel was part of this initiative to increase the “staggeringly low” number of hotel rooms on Grand Bahama, adding the hotel’s sale should be completed by the second quarter of 2019 “by the very latest”.