The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

The deputy prime minister yesterday hailed the “monumental achievement” in re-opening San Salvador’s Club Med resort after the property received its first 120 visitors for almost three years via an Air Canada flight.

Chester Cooper, also minister for tourism, investments and aviation, in a statement said the return of the island’s main economic driver and employer will create 300 direct jobs for Bahamians and create total employment for up to 350 persons. 

Following yesterday’s Air Canada flight, Air Caribe is due to fly in a further 200 guests from Europe on Thursday, while Bahamasair has plans to service the island from the US. “It was a monumental achievement for the Government, team tourism and Club Med,” said Mr Cooper of the re-opening.“

“As the pandemic has waned, we have taken an island by island, sector by sector approach to re-opening and reintroducing our product and brands to the world. Our concentration on increased airlift has been reaping rewards for The Bahamas, and we expect the same here with this upgraded facility and the upgraded infrastructure on the island. The property will employ at least 300 Bahamians. It’s a new day for San Salvador.” 

Prime Minister Philip Davis KC, who is MP for Cat Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador, said the Government had sought to match the $5m invested by Club Med put $5m in the resort’s re-opening by spending $3.5m to upgrade infrastructure such as public health clinics, water resources, the airport and electricity supply. 

“The impact of the reopening of Club Med to the economy of San Salvador cannot be overstated,” said Mr Davis. “It will see those who left for work in Nassau and other places return to continue to build their home. We expect to see at least 350 jobs generated on the island as a result of this. And it represents opportunities for other Bahamians.

“One of the reasons the property remained closed for so long is because the infrastructure had been neglected over the course of several years. My administration made a commitment to ensure that would not remain an obstacle to the continued growth of San Salvador. It’s a commitment that we meant to keep.” 

Club Med estimates that 70 percent of its former 190-strong workforce have returned to the property through the re-opening, and those numbers will improve as occupancy increases. The resort’s operating expenses are said to exceed $15m per month on San Salvador.

Eileen Kett, Club Med’s senior vice-president for development and general counsel, said the resort chain, which is owned by Chinese conglomerate, Fosun, was “grateful” for the investments made by the Government in upgrading San Salvador’s clinics.

“The new X-ray machines, the new ambulance, the tele-health medicine that’s needed on the island, the investment in the airport, will allow Club Med to bring in weekly charter flights from Europe, Canada and the US on Bahamasair. And we expect to bring over 15,000 international clients to the island each year,” she said.

“We expect more than 250 Bahamians to be employed either directly with Club Med, or through third party suppliers like landscape providers and security companies.” Club Med’s reopening is timed for the “ramp up” to Thanksgiving and the Christmas holidays, with the date giving it several weeks to address any operational issues that may emerge.

San Salvador businesses have already reacted positively to the confirmed reopening date. Beverley Laramore, owner of Paradis Restaurant and Bar, said: “We are very excited that Club Med is reopening. They were the major employers besides the Government on the island, and it is much needed after two-and-a-half years of the pandemic. The travel economy has taken a downturn so this is great news.”

Ms Laramore expects other spin-off jobs will be created as a result. “Since Club Med was closed business has been really slow. We’ve been trying to be very creative to keep the doors open. Now that there’s some activity going with the renovations at Club Med, we see a significant increase in business because of that. It’s all positive news all around,” she added.

Alison Mortimer, owner of Tiny’s Beauty and Drug Supply, said: “We are happy that we are bouncing back. We are super excited, especially for the businesses, to be able to bounce back. We hope it all goes well and there are no weather interruptions. The locals up there are doing a fantastic job of renovating the whole grounds of Club Med.

“The main thing is getting people back to work now. For the past two-and-a-half years without a job, and businesses having gone down, people had to leave the island in search for better work, so this is a God-sent blessing.”