According to the Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, the government will be spending more than US$200 million to develop the infrastructure in St. Thomas to position the parish as a new prime tourism destination.

The parish will see the development of Rocky Point Beach, rehabilitation of the road to Bath Fountain Hotel, as well as the leverage of strategic partnerships to develop heritage sites such as Fort Rocky and the Morant Bay Monument.

Mr. Bartlett said the plan is to attract a new demographic of visitors to the parish with high net worth who will be “big spenders.”

“We are going to have lifestyle tourism in that area… . We are going to have a new look based on a new approach that brings new jobs and new facilities,” he said.

The tourism minister said that by 2030, this initiative is projected to bring tremendous economic, infrastructure, and investment benefits.

These include 4,170 new hotel rooms for St. Thomas, 230,000 overnight visitors, US$244 million in visitor expenditure, US$22 million in tax contribution, as well as 13,000 direct and indirect jobs.

The initiative is also expected to result in tourism contributing US$174 million to gross domestic product (GDP), US$508 million in private investments, and US$33 million in public-private partnerships.

Support The Readers Bureau Buy A T-Shirt Today (4 different colors)! click  https://www.bonfire.com/one-love-72/?fbclid=IwAR2bod-XSyrCPutOwG_SMnKiInk6Bqe2kCtjBsAFISqHluQcujrF2UUkFew

Readers Bureau, Contributor

Edited by Jesus Chan

Do you want to add feedback to this story? Please add a comment in the box below or send an email to info@thereadersbureau.com,  Call us at 201-500-7715