Hoteliers receive encouraging news from PM Skerrit
Prime minister Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit has applauded those who continue to invest in the tourism sector.
The Dominica leader was addressing the 2012 tourism industry awards ceremony at Krazy Koconuts on Monday. The ceremony marked the start of the observance of tourism awareness month.
Awards were presented to several establishments who had excelled in the service industry during the past year.
During the feature address, Prime Minister Skerrit said those who take great risks to invest in the tourism sector should be applauded.
“I believe that we as a country must recognize the boldness of individuals who have taken on the risk of investing in Dominica. In some instances these people have in fact mortgaged everything they own to provide jobs and expand the economy.”
The Prime Minister then had some encouraging news for hoteliers.
“We as a government have tried our best in difficult circumstances to negotiate for better loan facilities, better interest rates, utilizing the Aid bank to facilitate that kind of investment and we shall continue on that path towards the acquisition of better terms and conditions. In some cases we have contracted loans from the Bandes Bank from Venezuela and also the European Investment Bank. We have contracted the loans from Bandes at three percent with a maximum spread of three percent to unlend to the private sector. We are mindful that there are quite a number of [establishments] that are not up to standard and I have been advised by the Minister of Tourism that these hotels will require some kind of special financing facility to help them in getting up to that standard. I believe the amount may be in the region of twenty or so million dollars. I can’t promise you the full twenty million dollars tonight, but I can tell you that in the budget address this year you will see a [considerable] amount allocated to the tourism industry to assist the hotel plants which require improvements.”
Meantime Prime Minister Skerrit also appealed to local financial institutions to work with the hoteliers to ensure that these businesses are sustained.
“I want to speak publicly to the other commercial banks that they have to be a little bit more sensitive to the challenges confronting the tourism industry. While having to maintain prudence and certain requirements, they have to exercise sympathy to the industry and to those who have been excellent clients of yours. If they are having some difficulty, clearly there must be some room for some kind of special consideration in this present difficult circumstance. The world is going through a tremendous challenge. There are many tourism [sectors] across the world that are having great difficulty in larger populations with better air access and with better infrastructure so it is not only here in Dominica, the Caribbean that we’re experiencing that kind of difficulty. Hotels have had to drop their rates dramatically in order to attract guests just to ensure they meet some of their commitments to the financial institutions.”