ST. GEORGE'S Grenada, November 1st 2012 – Shadow Cabinet Minister for Tourism Mrs. Alexandra Otway- Noel is extremely concerned about the present state of the tourism sector and wants Government to be more aggressive in protecting this important sector.
Mrs. Otway-Noel who was this week a keynote speaker during the 50th Annual General Meeting of the Grenada Hotel and Tourism Association, held on Tuesday evening at the Grenadian by Rex Resort was warmly welcomed. She pointed to the clear lack of results oriented support for tourism; with particular emphasis on the need to support Grenada’s tourism through effective marketing, airlift support and access to soft loan financing.
In her address to the GHTA Members, Ms. Otway-Noel confirmed that she heard their concerns regarding high energy costs; the lack of destination marketing; the unfavourable debt burden hotels carry; as well as the high level of frustration experienced by virtually all in attendance at the meeting.
She said the NNP is very concerned that even though an Emergency Task Force had been set up by the NDC Administration at the request of the GHTA, the very urgent actions needed to prevent the closure of hotels and loss of jobs have not been done – as there were no tangible results to report from the task force after several months of operation.
The NNP wishes to commend the GHTA on their heroic efforts to prevent significant job losses in the country, and wishes to recognize the enormous amount of time and money that has been invested by Tourism operators to find self-help solutions to the economic crisis facing the sector. What is most disappointing Mrs. Otway-Noel noted, is the government’s failure to recognize the urgency of the crisis facing the hotel sector.
Ms. Otway Noel also pointed to the absence of the Minister or a representative at the 50th Annual General Meeting of the Hotel and Tourism Association, saying this is a sign of the little importance the NDC administration gives to tourism in the country.
Meanwhile Mrs. Otway who is the NNP caretaker for the South St. George constituency says her heart goes out to the hundreds of workers in the tourism sector who have either lost their job or have been experiencing salary cuts due to the crisis situation. She said the NNP continues to work diligently to find solutions to assist this sector.
She noted that as the month of November has been named Tourism month and she expects and makes a desperate call on the Government to focus its attention on the crippled sector to prevent more workers and owners from losing their opportunities to provide the basic needs for their families. She stated that the number of hotels now closed is at 15.
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