Construction will begin in the first quarter of this year on one of two new hotels planned for Tobago.The four-star Indigo Bay Resort, which will have 79 suites, will be located Little Rockley Bay in Lambeau. The driving force behind this new hotel development is businessman Chris James, vice-president of the Tobago Hotel and Tourism Association, who is investing $112 million in the project.Tracy Davidson-Celestine, Secretary of Tourism at the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), gave details of the project when she addressed a session at the Caribbean Travel Marketplace conference in Montego Bay, Jamaica, yesterday. She said the property will "utilise the ambiance" of Little Rockly Bay as much as possible."Tobago is actively pursuing new hotel development. We are seeking to persuade investors to come to Tobago and encouraging investors currently there to expand and to move into new development. And that has not fallen on deaf ears," Davidson-Celestine said.
Completion of the resort is set for the end of 2015.The other hotel to be constructed in Tobago is a 66-unit property which is also due to open next year.Hotel projects in Trinidad over the next year include the Financial Complex Suites Limited in Port-of-Spain and the Capital Plaza Hotel, located across from the Port-of-Spain waterfront, which is undertaking extensive refurbishment of its 243 guest rooms. Completion of Capital Plaza is expected next January and it is to be franchised into the Radisson Hotels International Inc brand.Caribbean Travel Marketplace, the largest and most important business-to-business marketing event for the region's hospitality industry, is being attended by 1,200 delegates from more than 26 countries in North America, South America and Europe.The trade show matches suppliers, such as hotels, restaurants and tourist boards, with buyers–tour operators and wholesalers–in pre-scheduled business appointments, where parties discuss existing contracts and develop packages and contracts for future business.