There is an active effort afoot to find alternative accommodation for the thousands
of people who are expected to converge on Antigua and Barbuda in late May for
the Fourth Conference of Small Islands Developing States (SIDS)4.
And Prime Minister Gaston Browne is deeply involved in the process by taking a
‘hands-on’ approach to what is a critical aspect of hosting the conference from
May 27-30.
This, after the country decided not to pursue the idea of leasing a cruise ship and
having it docked in the St. John’s Harbour to assist with accommodating delegates
for the conference.
According to Prime Minister Browne the cost of leasing the cruise ship was
simply, prohibitive. “It was a very expensive proposition; it would have cost us in
excess of US$6 million which the government would have had to post upfront and
hope that the cruise ship would have been filled. This means that if there was only
50 percent occupancy, that would translate into a loss of US$3 million and that
would have been a significant amount of money for a small country like Antigua
and Barbuda,” he remarked.
He noted however, that this presents an opportunity for more residents to benefit
directly from the conference taking place here as persons with accommodations are
being encouraged to ‘open’ their homes for rent where ever possible for the
conference delegates.
“We want to make sure we maximise the amount of ‘spend’ in the local economy.
We see this as a great opportunity for those who operate AirBnB properties to
cash-in on this development. The Ministry of Tourism is currently making list of
these properties and its Project Development Officer, St. Clair Soleyn is
spearheading that effort,” he reported.
The prime minister has also reached out to ‘non-traditional’ sources such as the
Mill Reef Club to help in this regard. He held discussions over the past week with
the president of the Club and who has given the assurances that certain properties
will be made available to delegates.
From these efforts, the prime minister anticipates that the spending in the economy
associated with the conference would be so significant that it would justify Antigua
and Barbuda’s decision to offer to host this important gathering as it would be a net
economic benefit for the government and people of Antigua and Barbuda.
