FREEPORT, Grand Bahama — The Grand Lucayan’s new owners must have an Atlantis-type impact to relaunch a destination that will have been “off the market” for at least four years, a Freeport hotelier warned yesterday, The Tribune reported August 2.
Magnus Alnebeck, Pelican Bay’s general manager, told Tribune Business that the ITM/Royal Caribbean joint venture needed to have the kind of effect on Freeport that Sir Sol Kerzner achieved in the mid-1990s with Paradise Island’s rebirth if the city is to re-establish itself in the global tourism marketplace.
Pointing to a little-noticed aspect of their deal, Mr Alnebeck said October 2019 will mark the third anniversary of the Grand Lucayan’s post-Hurricane Matthew closure and the loss of some 1,000 hotel rooms and 500-1,000 jobs.
The government has indicated that it will likely take between four to six months to close the Grand Lucayan’s $65m sale, and a Heads of Agreement, with the ITM/Royal Caribbean consortium which potentially pushes the likely completion date out until end-2019.
The Mexican port developer and cruise line have said the $130m first phase investment will cover a 24-month period, meaning that a revived Grand Lucayan — complete with water-based theme park and associated retail, gaming and restaurant amenities — may only be ready to receive its first guests come winter 2021. http://www.tribune242.com/news/2019/apr/02/lucayan-buyers-must-be-freeports-atlantis/
