{"id":8534,"date":"2017-10-21T12:25:24","date_gmt":"2017-10-21T16:25:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=8534"},"modified":"2017-10-21T12:25:24","modified_gmt":"2017-10-21T16:25:24","slug":"browne-suggests-halal-restaurants-hotels-to-attract-rich-saudi-tourists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/browne-suggests-halal-restaurants-hotels-to-attract-rich-saudi-tourists\/","title":{"rendered":"Browne suggests halal restaurants, hotels to attract rich Saudi tourists"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne wants Saudis to visit and invest in his hurricane-battered country.<\/div>\n
\nHe is considering bringing halal standards to the islands for the first time in a bid to attract more Arabs visitors.
\nIn an interview with Arab News, he said he had seen increased Middle East interest in real estate and tourism projects in his country which is emerging from the devastating impact of Hurricane Irma.<\/div>\n
\n\u201cWe are looking for high net worth individuals. We already have a lot of interest from Saudi Arabia.\u201d
\nHe added: \u201cI want to encourage Saudis to invest in our safe, vibrant country. We are open arms to all cultures and want to please.<\/div>\n
\n\u201cWe are open to suggestions and would look to build halal restaurants or hotels if that\u2019s what Muslims want or need.\u201d<\/div>\n
\nBrowne rejected claims that the Caribbean islands are being propped up by \u201cpassports for sale\u201d initiatives.
\nHe said: \u201cI don\u2019t see it as passports for sale. It\u2019s an incentive for investment \u2013 it\u2019s not a new concept. Europe has used it before. This is a competitive market.<\/div>\n
\n\u201cIf one country offers citizenship as part of the investment deal \u2013 such as the US or Canada \u2013 and another country doesn\u2019t, they (investors) won\u2019t invest. It\u2019s just a unique selling point.\u201d<\/div>\n
\nWith many countries in the Middle East undergoing political turmoil, citizens of some countries have few visa-free travel options. As former British colonies and members of the Commonwealth, Caribbean island passports grant visa-free access to the UK and the Schengen Area, as well as numerous other countries.
\nThe country\u2019s citizenship by investment program (CIP) has pumped around $500 million into Antigua and Barbuda\u2019s economy since 2014 and has helped pay for social security, cancer treatment and a new hospital, according to Ronald Sanders, Antigua and Barbuda\u2019s ambassador to the US.<\/div>\n
\nOn Sept. 6, 2017, when Hurricane Irma swept through Barbuda, Browne saw most of his country\u2019s buildings reduced to \u2014 in his own words \u2014 \u201cliterally a rubble.\u201d At least 60 percent of the island\u2019s residents were left homeless because of the disaster.<\/div>\n
\nSpeaking on the sidelines of the Global Citizen Forum, Browne said: \u201cMost of the impact was on Barbuda, so the economic impact on Antigua is minor. However, it\u2019s an economic setback because the country is heavily subsided by Antigua.\u201d<\/div>\n
\nThe PM said tourism and real estate are areas that he really wants to push to investors.<\/div>\n
\n\u201cWe have some of the most beautiful beaches in the world and the actual climate itself is about 28 degrees all year round, and it hardly rains. It\u2019s a great country for tourism and vacationing, it\u2019s very peaceful and we enjoy a very stable political climate.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
(Arab News)<\/div>\n
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Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne wants Saudis to visit and invest in his hurricane-battered country. He is considering bringing halal standards to the islands for the first time in a bid to attract more Arabs visitors. In an interview with Arab News, he said he had seen increased Middle East interest in real […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-economy","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nBrowne suggests halal restaurants, hotels to attract rich Saudi tourists - Antigua News Room<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/browne-suggests-halal-restaurants-hotels-to-attract-rich-saudi-tourists\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Browne suggests halal restaurants, hotels to attract rich Saudi tourists\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne wants Saudis to visit and invest in his hurricane-battered country. He is considering bringing halal standards to the islands for the first time in a bid to attract more Arabs visitors. 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