As the government seeks to enhance the country’s tourism product, it is expanding its focus not only to continue increase in room stock but to continue to widen the market to attract more visitors who want different experiences, especially nature lovers.
With La Soufriere in he north of the island, accessible from both the Windward and Leeward side of the island, and with attractive waterfalls on either side, rural St Vincent is poised for transformation through hotel development which is expected to increase economic benefits of the very important sector, and redound to the benefits of rural businesses and resident.
Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves spoke of the potential transformation as he addressed his Unity Labour Party’s Red and Ready rally held at the Calliaqua Playing Fied in East St George Sunday night.
“Some investors came, it’s not the first time they came. They have paid down some money on 26 acres of land, they call it Balcombe land,” Gonsalves said, adding that the piece of “beautiful land” going out to a promontory, is located in the area past the North Union Secondary Schoo, where a Great House used to be, on the right hand side of the road heading in the direction of North Windward.
These investors from Canada and the United States, they’re buying that land from the private sector people who own it and they’re going to build a hotel there,” Gonsalves said. “ Why are they going to build it? It’s a beautiful spot, you see the beautiful ocean, but we have a lot of waterfalls in that part of the country. They have up Diamond, they have up South Rivers, they got the Salt Pond up in the area.”
Gonsalves noted that the island’s natural resources are being used to drive rural tourism to the benefit of the people.
Gonsalves said there is also a piece of land at Orange Hill, North Windward, “where some investors are also interested in for a hotel out that side,” and in North Leeward where tourism minister and North Leeward MP Carlos James has said he has already held discussions with investors for the construction of a hotel at Cumberland.
