Secretary of Tourism in the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Oswald Williams says there is a cloud of uncertainty over the opening of the Vanguard Hotel. Speaking at a THA post-executive council news conference on Wednesday, Williams said the issue was very challenging since the opening of the hotel would depend on the quality and quantity of air carriers to Tobago. Williams said despite the information released by the central government via the media, there was still a lot to be done, including sourcing an operator for the establishment.
"Tenders were sent out twice for operators for the Vanguard Hotel and on both occasions the result has not been very good," he said. "On the first occasion, there were about six responses but none of them met the required standard for the operation of the hotel so they had gone out again and this time only one prospective operator responded. "Of course, that in itself is a challenge and therefore this put the whole process in a state of abeyance."
Minister of Tourism Rupert Griffith recently announced that the Vanguard Hotel would be ready for occupation for the winter schedule this year. Williams, however, said the THA did not feel confident that the time frame would be met. "The thing is there are still many things to be done to get the Vanguard on stream," he said. "While the winter schedule may seem far away, it is not, and the Tobago House of Assembly does not feel confident that will happen in time for the date stated. "What we need is the assurance and for now what we are seeing is uncertainty."
Williams added that the uncertainty could affect airlift to Tobago. "There are many persons who are willing to purchase that luxurious package at the front of the airplane and we cannot go to them with promises...That is not the way things are done," he said. "If we continue like this we could find ourselves in the position where Virgin Atlantic and British Airways, who are the largest carriers, can decide not to come to Tobago and that would be detrimental to Tobago's tourism."
On the issue of the reduced cost from $200 million to $60 million for refurbishment of the hotel, Williams said: "We have to remember that we want high-end rooms for high-end passengers at Vanguard, and we should not forsake the quality. "The question we should ask ourselves is what kind of hotel would we get for $60 million," he added.