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| Parry: Nevis Cannot Depend on Four Seasons Alone |
| By Sheena Brooks |
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Hon. Joseph Parry |
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Against the backdrop of another delayed Four Seasons Resort re-opening, Premier Hon. Joseph Parry says Nevis must not depend solely on the luxury resort for economic sustainability.
Earlier this year the Four Seasons Resort-Nevis’ Web site stated that, “the target opening date is November 1, 2010”. However, that date has since been changed to December 15, 2010.
On Tuesday’s airing of “In Touch with the Premier” Parry touted economic diversification as the way forward for the small island. He said discouraging a solitary reliance on the now-closed resort had been met with public criticism.
“We cannot and must not continue to depend only on the Four Seasons hotel. Now when that statement was made some people took offense; some people said all kinds of things, but I want to remind people that the Nevis Reformation Party is a party of vision and a party that understands how to implement its vision and create the change. If you look around you see first of all the impacts of a Four Seasons closure, because we have had it for the past two years and we’ve seen the downtown in the economy as a result of that,” he said.
In October 2008 Hurricane Omar caused extensive damage to the 196-room resort resulting in its closure. More than 600 persons lost their jobs. The Nevis Island Administration was also dealt a severe blow from the loss of revenue that the popular tourist destination generated through Customs duties and other state taxes.
In April, as the country waited for the outcome of the legal wrangling in a Delaware court that could have impeded the re-opening, the Premier was quoted as saying, “Dog dead with Nevis if the Four Seasons closes.”
During Tuesday’s radio show Parry said there was no need for “any long story” about the effects a continued or permanent closure of the Four Seasons would have on Nevis’ economy. He noted that political critics were attempting to minimize the huge efforts of the NRP as it related to this and other national development projects.
“Every one of us understands the danger of having one hotel being the sole provider for the whole island. You’ll need to have diversification within tourism and outside tourism. We are working on the Aman, and I am told that I must not make it a political football, but I am also told I am not to make the re-opening of the Four Seasons a political football. In other words the NRP and its hard-working supporters and the people of Nevis must fold their hands, lap their legs and pretend that everything that happens in Nevis happens by accident,” he said.
According to Parry, opposition detractors want to give the populace the impression that there was “no one, no government designing, creating and implementing”, but through the collaborative efforts of the NRP-led government and other stakeholders, the Four Seasons’ re-opening would become a reality.
Concerned Citizens Movement’s Hon. Mark Brantley previously told The Observer that his party welcomed every effort to get the Four Seasons reopened and people back to work.
“We have indicated our support of the government’s efforts and see no need to try to politicize this national issue. It is our fervent hope and desire that the resort will reopen this year and that our people will be able to resume work and some sense of normalcy,” the Constituency #9 parliamentary representative said.
With regard the possibility of an Aman luxury resort coming to the island, Parry claims opposition members had noted that Nevis was not mentioned on the Aman Resorts Web site. He said he was not “worried or scared”, as his Party is working ardently to make it a reality.
“The former Premier and now Leader of the Opposition [Concerned Citizens Movement party] said that the thirteen hotels that were to come to Nevis were all wishes. This is not a wish; this is something we have been working on since 2008. It is now 2010 and we are reaching closer and closer. Let us imagine that Nevis has the Four Seasons and the Aman; do we understand where we would be positioned in terms of tourism in the Caribbean? What it would mean for the island of Nevis?” he asked.
The NRP leader said even considering a scenario where the Aman was positioned at the bottom of Hanley’s Road, it would spell a significant improvement for the area and the island on a whole.
“A Jack Nicklaus golf course, a brand new road, people working, people turning Hanley’s Road into a beautiful area to rival the Four Seasons area - can we imagine that? And of course we are working on a marina in the Cades Bay area; we are working on a shopping centre in downtown Charlestown - all these are things happening in tourism because of the NRP,” he asserted.
Parry indicated that other initiatives were either underway or in the pipeline that would help transform and improve the tourism product, making Nevis a better place for visitors and residents alike.
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