Former Tourism Minister: We Are In Wait-And-See Mode

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Nearly seven years after the Minnis-led government bought the Grand Lucayan Resort for $64 million, the Davis administration plans to sign a Heads of Agreement with Concord Wilshire, a United States-based real estate and resort development company.

According to its website, CW has been developing, constructing, and investing in distinguished real estate assets in major or emerging markets throughout the United States since 1992 and has won awards in the sector.

DIONISIO D’AGUILAR – FORMER MINISTER OF TOURISM
“It’s a wait and see. Let’s see the specific details, let’s see the amount of investment, let’s see how long the project is going to take to get to the point where it’s impacting the lives of the people in Grand Bahama.”

With this possibly being its first project outside of the U.S., D’Aguilar is skeptical but hopeful.

DIONISIO D’AGUILAR – FORMER MINISTER OF TOURISM
“I don’t like the fact that it’s a large American company. We generally don’t seem to do well by them, but we’ll wait and see. And also, this will probably be their first project in the Caribbean, which is always a little bit different from doing business in North America or the United States.”

In 2020, the Minnis administration announced that Holistica, a joint company of Royal Caribbean and the ITM Group, would develop the property and construct a new cruise port.

However, after winning the 2021 general election, the Davis administration canceled the agreement.

The Davis government then announced a deal with Electra America Hospitality Limited for $100 million, with plans for a $300 million redevelopment into a sustainable luxury resort… but that deal collapsed a year later.

With their track record, D’Aguilar says Bahamians may be a bit suspicious.

DIONISIO D’AGUILAR – FORMER MINISTER OF TOURISM
“So this is the third proposal that’s been presented to the Bahamian people. So the Bahamian people, you’ll have to forgive us, are probably a little skeptical, given what has transpired.”

And while the resort sale is big news, the former tourism minister says another big question will be what happens with the airport.

DIONISIO D’AGUILAR – FORMER MINISTER OF TOURISM
“So maybe when the government rolls out the details of this investment in the Grand Lucayan, they will inform the Bahamian people on what their plan is with the airport. You can always tell the flam, whether it’s ‘Oh, we guh do this’ or ‘We guh do that’, by the fact that there is no substance behind it, but we’ll wait and see.”