The Citizenship by Investment Program-funded and Hilton-managed Tranquility Beach Resort Dominica, which is expected to open its doors in Salisbury in 2018 will bring better visibility to Dominica, Tourism Minister Senator Robert Tonge said on Wednesday.
Hilton Worldwide announced on Monday, October 26 that the Tranquility Beach Resort will encompass a gated community of 60 one- or two-bedroom villa suites built in 15 new buildings along the Dominica coastline, accessible by a private beach path and surrounded by the luscious greenery of the country’s indigenous forest. It will include a pool, two 1,200 square-foot meeting and event spaces, a wellness center and gym.
“I see that as a positive in terms of bringing up our level of customer service in Dominica, also bringing better visibility to Dominica so that we can have more persons in Dominica experiencing what Dominica has to offer,” Tonge said during an interview with the media.
He noted idea to have the hotel established in Dominica came from Dominican born architect living in Anguilla.
“Ian Edwards is an architect who lives in Anguilla and have received couple awards for having some amazing beautiful properties and he was one who always wanted to come back to Dominica to give back to a certain extent, and he saw the opportunity by giving back by putting down a property in Dominica,” he explained.
Senator Tonge explained further that the property is going to be financed through the Citizenship by Investment Program.
“So as you can see the realistic portion of the Citizenship by Investment Program is a great opportunity for persons to capitalize on to have some hotel type projects,” he stated.
He continued, “What the government of Dominica does is to screen these investors and these potential developers very closely because we want to ensure that any property being built right now is going to be sustainable. We want a building that is at a particular level and that attracts a lot of people to Dominica, it also attracts some of the best hotel properties in the world, because when we have one of these great properties in Dominica it normally tends to attract more people to come to the country and it also attracts other hotels at that same level.”
He said other properties in Dominica should not be concerned about competition.
“These properties that are being built, all of them are practically at a higher level that the properties that are currently in Dominica, except for maybe Jungle Bay and Secret Bay,” Tonge indicated. “So they are not direct competitors but what it does it allows to make Dominica more visible, it allows Dominicans to work at these properties and be better trained because obviously you are providing a much higher level of service which will help increase our level of service that we provide in Dominica.”
Hilton Worldwide is a leading global hospitality company, spanning the lodging sector from luxury and full-service hotels and resorts to extended-stay suites and focused-service hotels. For 96 years, Hilton Worldwide has been dedicated to continuing its tradition of providing exceptional guest experiences.
Another major resort, also funded by the Citizenship by Investment Program, a 160-room Cabrits Resort Kempinski which will be located at Douglas Bay between the Cabrits National Park and the community of Tan Tan, is expected to be completed in 2018.
The Government of Dominica along with the Range Developments partners held a ground breaking ceremony was held in Portsmouth on October 16, to begin construction of that resort.
Tonge concern yourself with the Here and Now. You are currently killing the Tourist Industry. By 2018 we will be lucky if Dominica is still Habitable let alone worth visiting .This present Regime is doing everything to impede the growth and development of Dominica and it saddens me. Thus far, you\’ve not shown one decent proposal that could boost Tourism in Dominica! Frankly, I think you should step aside and allow someone with a plan of action to Manage our Tourist Sector. After this whole Creole Fiasco, I don\’t see what choice you\’ve got.
We say the architectural rendition of a supposedly new hospital, we also the “Las Moroccan” now incomplete stand there like a donkey with a crook on its back; what about all the other ground breaking ceremony’s held in hope of building some hotel.
Someone said, Dominica holds the worlds record for the most ground breaking ceremony’s in anticipation of the construction and completion of some ten star hotel which never see the light of day, the one, that tongue has so much hope for will never materialized.
Anybody who would spend that kind of money in a country where an international airport does not exists would have to be fool unless they intends to fill the rooms with hot carbonic gas! The one that go prap, prap prap, ppppppppppppprrrrrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaappppppppppppppppppppp
How will the guest get to the resort Mr. Tonge
These proposed resort developments are great opportunities to ensure Dominica benefit from the high end of the stay over tourist market. They will not compete with the mostly family run properties that we currently have in Dominica, but, they will certainly help put Dominica on the map thus making the destination better known throughout the world and also greatly assist in differentiating Dominica from the Dominican Republic. These properties will also create opportunities for improved customer service and improved and increased training in hotel operations and hotel service skills.
Some one made a great suggestions to develop a Golf and Tennis Club since the type of visitors who are attracted to these properties are usually golf and tennis enthisiasts, and that should be further explored.
Great comments Mister Minister
He says other business should not be concerned about competition – they’re not. They’re concerned about the fact that the tourism authorities are spending millions of taxpayer dollars yet the number of stay-over visitors is not increasing. They’re concerned that it costs travelers a fortune to fly here and that 50% of a Liat ticket is Dominica government tax (how short-sighted is this ?). They’re concerned that the government killed Creole with little regard to the impact this decision would have on the tourism sector and related businesses. They’re concerned that the people in charge of tourism in this country have have absolutely no experience of it whatsoever.
actually it is not only Dominica tax.
Everytime LIAT stops in a country, that country gets a cut.
Mr Tonge, I have high hopes too. However, I will feel better when you do the following:.
1.Invite Mr. Skerrit to a meeting
2. Both of you should view the video below together
3. Have him to promise to speak the truth to you and the Dominica people, about questions ICP asked UN regarding Dominica
4. Ask him if he thinks Dominica truly deserves this kind of scrutiny, attention and focus we seem to be getting
Here is the video: ICP Asks UN of Ashe $1M Bail, UNDP South-South & Dominica, Non-Nationals as Diplomats, Lax UN
Listen below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaAKdxZctF8
What about adding a tennis court and if possible golf course. This would make the property even more upmarket encouraging wealthy people from every corner of the world to visit Dominica. I can’t wait!
Tennis course maybe, but for a proper 18 hole resort course you need close to 200 acres and the location simply has not got that. I think Point Round (Rollo’s Head) would be better for that and the location would be excellently placed, right next to the highway between Roseau and Portsmouth, with a sweeping view over the Caribbean and the Cabrits to the north and not too far from Tranquility Beach on Grand Savanne.
i concur
The eventualities of these projects are not impossible, but we have to be realistic. None will be completed in 2018. Funded by the Citizenship by investment program, these funding sources can be slow to come in. Investors like to see a physical structure before they invest. To build the structure takes money and if potential investors are apprehensive about injecting funds, then the question is where will the initial funds come from?. The developers then have to approach the bank for seed financing. Then which bank will put funding into a dream? Few. We have to deal with reality. Completion in 2018 is unrealistic. And the all involve knows that.
There seems to be a misconception here. People, who pay for Dominican Citizenship will not own part of that investment, although it is funded with their money. Their investment will purely buy them our citizenship plus a certificate of share in a partnership but it will not buy ownership, or part-ownership of the project itself.
Thanks for the clarification which makes a lot of sense.. So from what you are saying i gather it is like SIDF in St. Kitts. I prefer the model where people buy the units. This model aids in ensuring increased stay-over visitors as several of these owners while they may not reside on the island, they do come on special occassions thus boosting stay-overs. The model employed here based on your explanation means that persons simply buy the passport and really pay little attention on how the money is used. They are simply interested in the passport.
Robbie, I support this development as it fits into the image we want to portray of Dominica as opposed to that Kempinski monstrosity. You forgot to mention Rosalie Bay in your summation but I’m sure that is just an unintentional oversight. My big question is: How can we, ordinary Dominicans who do not have to buy a passports, invest in a development like that? That would be so positive, creating a bond so that we can boast with pride that it is truly our own instead of a bunch of foreigners, buying our passport and repatriating their profits. I think we should be given that opportunity.