PM Browne Emphasizes Need for 10,000 Hotel Rooms to Boost Tourism and Economy
Prime Minister Gaston Browne has underscored the critical need for Antigua and Barbuda to expand its hotel room capacity to 10,000 in order to fully capitalize on the potential of the tourism industry and enhance the country’s economic prospects.
Addressing concerns from some quarters of society about the perceived oversupply of hotel rooms, Browne highlighted that the current inventory is far from sufficient.
“Many in our society have stated that we have too many hotel rooms,” Browne said. “The reality is we’re nowhere close to full capacity. Truth be told, we’re literally peeping into that industry—we don’t even have a foot in it yet. We need at least 10,000 rooms in this country to reach a level where we can have sustained income to truly improve the living standards of our people and achieve resonant prosperity.”
Browne pointed out the stark contrast between Antigua and Barbuda’s hotel capacity and that of other tourism powerhouses. “When you look at places like Cancun, they have 100,000 rooms.
Even Jamaica has about 20,000 rooms, and Dubai, which started its tourism industry just a few decades ago, now boasts 100,000 rooms. Are we to condemn ourselves to about 4,000 rooms? People argue that we’re too dependent on tourism, and while we are diversifying, we are not yet maximizing our returns on tourism. There’s a long way to go.”
He emphasized that the relationship between hotel capacity and tourism infrastructure is a “chicken and egg situation.” “If you don’t attract the rooms, you can’t attract the airlift. We have to continue building out our tourism infrastructure rapidly to increase revenues and sustain robust growth and development.”
Prime Minister Browne’s call for expanding hotel capacity is part of a broader strategy to ensure that Antigua and Barbuda can compete effectively in the global tourism market, providing jobs, and improving the quality of life for its citizens.
By setting an ambitious target of 10,000 rooms, Browne aims to position the country as a premier destination capable of supporting a vibrant and sustainable tourism industry.
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What happened to economic diversity and food security. Did we not learn from COVID-19. Now Skerritt following him and neglecting farmers to build hotel. What we go eat…sand?
No body can eat sand, gold or oil but they bring in a lot of revenue in order for us to buy food. More hotels means more money for all of us.
Is there a direct flight from Nigeria to Barbados,? If there’s non, it’s good for the government to look into it
The market decides how many rooms Antigua needs, not GB. Vacationers have hundreds of destinations competing for their hard earned money. They will choose the place that above all gives them the best value for their money. Antigua has become a relatively expensive choice for holiday makers with relatively few entertaining amenities. The arrivals and departures experience at the airport leaves many travellers with a bad aftertaste and a determination to never repeat that ordeal. St. Maarten offers it’s revered guest’s better value, more amenities, and a relatively hassle free airport encounter. And that’s why they fill more hotel rooms. GBs delusional daydreaming isn’t going to fill any more hotel rooms around here.
Agree. We need more rooms to attract more tourist. We have as much to offer as any destination . This will also allow for more competitive rates. When one consider destinations such as Punta Cana, Cancun etc,. If we were to receive a small fraction of their visitors it would be an economic boost.