By Tahna Weston
Opposition Leader Jamale Pringle says he is not taking seriously recent statements made by the Prime Minister regarding wanting to boost the country’s hotel rooms while enhancing its tourism product and economy.
As a matter of fact, Pringle is convinced that Gaston Browne’s pronouncement was a pre-election pitch.
The Opposition Leader is convinced that the country may have either a by-election or a general election before the five-year due date in 2028.
PM Browne, over two weeks ago on his radio station, said that Antigua and Barbuda needed at least 10,000 hotel rooms in order to attain a level “where we can have sustained income to truly improve the living standards of our people and achieve resonant prosperity”.
Browne said at the time many people erroneously believe the country already has too many hotel rooms, when according to the Prime Minister, it is nowhere close to full capacity.
“Truth be told, we’re literally peeping into that industry; we don’t even have a foot in it yet,” Browne said.
However, Pringle said the administration continues to make mention of expanding the country’s room stock, even while many previously announced hotel projects have failed.
The Opposition Leader said over a dozen hotel projects have been announced over the past 10 years.
“I believe the Prime Minister is preparing for an election campaign, so he is again with some pie-in-the-sky promises and ideas, and we can testify to the inability of the Prime Minister to bring any of these projects to completion – (as) a matter of fact, to even start.
“You would have heard about the hotel at Callaloo Cay; you would have heard about the various hotels, one in Jolly Harbour – Best Western; you would have heard about the one at Valley Church – and to date we have seen nothing,” Pringle said.
Pringle said that the UPP has no confidence in Prime Minister Browne’s ability to deliver on any of the previously announced projects and his hopes of expanding the hotel stock.
According to the opposition MP, Browne loves strong sound-bites to make himself look good.
“And again, he just says things that he believes are worthy of re-playing on the media because he realises that the media carries anything that he says as the Prime Minister, so he is just making promises,” Pringle said.
Browne previously pointed to destinations like Mexico’s Cancun, with about 100,000 rooms, and Jamaica with some 20,000 rooms, and Dubai, which he said started its tourism industry just a few decades ago and now boasts 100,000 rooms.
“Are we to condemn ourselves to about 4,000 rooms? People argue that we’re too dependent on tourism, and while we are diversifying, we are not yet maximising our returns on tourism. There’s a long way to go,” Browne said.
