BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, May 21st 2014 (TUCOM) -- Propaganda and spin cannot fix economic problems. More and more the outgoing illegitimate government of Denzil Douglas must face that reality. The tourism sector in St. Kitts and Nevis continues to be challenged for the want of effective Ministerial leadership, a coherent master plan for the sector and an action plan. The ‘miss and hit’ approach to such a vital sector has resulted in an underperforming sector.
While several CARICOM destinations have revived their tourism arrivals and receipts to pre 2008 global crisis level and embarked on a growth beyond their 2008 stay over arrivals creating new records for best performing years, stay over arrivals in St. Kitts are yet to achieve such a feat.
So in 2013 St. Kitts and Nevis received less than 110,000 stay over tourists. In 2008 we received 127,705 stay over visitors and during the period 2005/2006 we peaked at an average of 140,000 stay over visitors. We in St. Kitts have not yet restored our arrivals to what they were when the global crisis struck in 2008. We note too tourist visitor expenditure in St. Kitts and Nevis in 2013 was an unacceptable $272 million compared to the $297 million achieved in 2008 and the $355 million in 2006. All of Mr. Skerritt’s talk is amounting to cheap and deceptive fluff. Results are eluding us in every area.
Our hotels are not achieving the desirable year to year occupancy levels. Profitability is low. Our hotel room stock is declining as hoteliers release rooms from the hotel room pool, to either condo, time sharing or student dorms. Some unprofitable hotels have also been closed.
Golden Lemon Hotel is closed. Rawlins Plantation Hotel is closed. Frigate Bay Beach Hotel is closed. Sugar Bay Hotel is 50 percent student dorms. Jack Tar is 95 percent student dorms. We are advised that the Angelus Hotel has been converted into student dorms and living quarters for the expatriate Marriott staff. The promised 5 star transformation of the Angelus Hotel remains an empty promise and a big lie. The Bird Rock Beach is 30 percent student dorms. . The Marriott Hotel which started with over 700 rooms designated for hotel accommodation has reduced its hotel room inventory to less than 400 rooms.
The reality of more potential hotel closures and the student market becoming the biggest attraction for our hotels is a sad story of a hotel sector allowed to go underground in St. Kitts. That reality also reflects a hotel product that has become bacchanalized and a marketing plan that is either ill-conceived or unfortunately lost on Mr. Skerritt ‘s desk languishing for support.
Rather than correct the deep structural problems in a highly competitive tourism sector, the weary and illegal government traces butterflies over dangerous waterfalls. While minority interests in Christophe Harbour battle their way out of that project, a delusional and unconstitutional government gets immersed into that project to the tune of $43 million of public moneys and it does this without reference to the National Parliament and without consultation with the people of St. Kitts and Nevis.
As the White Gate Project becomes another expensive white elephant, the illegal government without Parliamentary approval financed the Kittitian Hill Project from what many consider a slush fund which this illegitimate regime has christened as the Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation (SIDF). We the public are yet to see the financial statements for 2012, 2013 for SIDF and we are yet to see the financial statements of Kittitian Hill/Belmont Estate Development. We hope SEDONA has better luck.
We have entered the dull season for the tourism sector. It looks dark. The new Seaborne flight out of San Juan is languishing and could cost the tax payer thousands for empty seats as we are advised that its loads are very low.
This May things look challenging for our tourism. The low demand for stay over arrivals in St. Kitts has resulted in flights being cut by the airlines. Flights from New York, Atlanta, Charlotte and the extra weekend overnight Miami flight services are discontinued starting this May. St. Kitts will have only daily Miami and Seaborne services out of the USA.
Government, even an illegitimate one like the Douglas regime should respect its people and the economic partners enough to tell the truth in ways that are verifiable. Faced with an electorate ready to kick it out of office, the Douglas illegitimate regime has become more intransparent and unaccountable to the public. Lies after lies are being told.
We in Team Unity commit to sunshine in government. We commit to pass a Freedom of Information Bill which will allow public information on tourism, on financial services, SIDF etc. to be made available regularly and in a timely manner to the general public. The people’s business must not be hidden from them. Such modus operandi leads to corruption.
We in Team Unity commit to a consultative approach to government and in that regard we shall bring all our stakeholders in tourism on board as we chart a new and better way for tourism expansion, growth and development.
We pledge that our stay over visitor arrivals will boom again. We will develop a tourism master plan and an action plan. We will again make St. Kitts and Nevis a destination of choice for the discerning traveler.
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