Planning is under way to roll out a new phase of locally owned Airbnb investment at Willoughby Bay, Prime Minister Gaston Browne said Saturday, following the complete sell-out of similar lots at Pensioners Beach.
Speaking on Pointe FM’s Browne and Browne programme, Browne said the Willoughby Bay project will build on the success of Pensioners Beach, where all Airbnb investment lots have now been taken up.
“We’ll be doing the same thing at Willoughby Bay,” Browne said, describing the approach as a way to expand local participation in tourism ownership.
He said the Pensioners Beach project has been fully sold out, underscoring strong demand from Antiguans and Barbudans seeking to invest in short-term rental accommodation. “The Pensioners Beach lots are fully sold out,” Browne said.
Browne said the model allows ordinary citizens to own income-generating tourism assets, helping to spread the benefits of tourism more broadly across the population.
He linked the strong uptake to the continued growth of Airbnb accommodation, which he said has become a significant component of the tourism sector and offers a relatively accessible entry point for local investors.
The prime minister said the government intends to replicate the Pensioners Beach model at Willoughby Bay, using land development and targeted concessions to encourage local ownership rather than concentrating investment among large external operators.
He said expanding local participation in tourism remains a key pillar of the government’s economic empowerment strategy.
