September 22, 2020 – Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Dr. the Right Honourable Keith Mitchell, has welcomed Monday’s announcement by Sandals that close to 600 team members have returned to work.

Over the next few weeks, the workers will be trained in Sandals’ Premium Protocols of Cleanliness, ahead of the planned re-opening of the luxury resort on October 1, 2020. The protocols, according to a Sandals press release, “ensure the strictest health and hygiene guidelines and have allowed the company to successfully reopen several other resorts in Antigua, Jamaica, Saint Lucia and Barbados.”

At a meeting with top Sandals executives on Sunday, Dr. Mitchell was apprised of the hotel’s plans and he welcomed the workers return to work.

Dr. Mitchell said, “This is exciting news for Grenada. We look forward to the re-opening of the hotel and to resume welcoming visitors to our shores. This will largely signal the resumption of activity in the tourism sector, which has been particularly hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. What is even more heart-warming is that hundreds of our nationals are returning the work, after six months. This is good news on a personal level for these employees, and for the suppliers of goods and services, who benefit indirectly from the hotel’s operations. On a wider scale, it is also good news for the country and I am truly heartened by this announcement.”

Sandals executives have assured the Prime Minister that they are willing to share the hotel’s well-established protocols with the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation to facilitate training for other hoteliers.

The Prime Minister applauded this initiative. He said, “I commend Sandals’ willingness to collaborate with other stakeholders in the industry. This would help create uniformity in standards. Together with the fact that Grenada currently has no active COVID-19 cases, this makes an ideal selling point for the country’s tourism product. Grenada is grateful for your initiative and partnership in restarting the local tourism industry.”