Sir Royston Hopkin

One of Grenada's top hoteliers, Sir Royston Hopkin, who is the Chairman and Managing Director of Spice Island Beach Resort, says that the local hotel sector stands to loose thousands of dollars with the implementation of the CARICOM visa and other legislation being put in place for the upcoming Cricket World Cup.

Nationals of several European countries now require the CARICOM Special Visa to enter the 10 host countries during the period  February 1 to May 15 - the period when the cricket matches would be played in the Caribbean region.

The visa requirement will affect all countries except Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Ireland, Italy, South Africa, Spain, The Netherlands, United Kingdom & Dependent Territories, United States & Dependent Territories, and Nationals and Residents of CARICOM Member States (except Haiti).

The visa was expected to be implemented by Monday, January 15, 2007, however it was pushed-back to February 01.

Speaking to GRENADA TODAY on Monday, Sir Royston said that what Grenada is attempting to gain during the World Cup in the end the island could loose 10 times more with the implementation of the "Sunset" legislation.

The long-standing hotelier told this newspaper that Grenada could loose a lot more than it stands to gain and is concerned that the effect could be long lasting after the World Cup. He said the implementation of the CARICOM visa will have far-reaching implications on the tourism sector in the region.

He pointed out that many travellers from international countries such as Australia who did not require a visa to travel to Grenada previously would now have to "scramble" to obtain one.

According to Hopkin, the mechanisms have not been put in place to adequately deal with this new requirement and sees the new visa requirement as having a negative impact on Grenada's tourism industry.

Sir Royston called on Caribbean heads of governments to re-look the swift introduction of the visa, noting that it has the potential to cause damage to hoteliers and the economies throughout the region.

President of the Grenada Hotel and Tourism Association (GHTA), Ian Da Breo, also spoke to Grenada Today and echoed concern about the implementation of the visa. Da Breo feels that the visa introduction will have "a slight negative effect" on some travellers to the region.

He said that the International Cricket Council (ICC) having knowledge of all requirements necessary for hosting a game of this magnitude should have made the announcement of the Sunset legislation months earlier to enable persons the adequate time that was needed to prepare themselves.

Da Breo suggested that CARICOM Heads should look at postponing the implementation of this new requirement to no sooner than the end of February.
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) was urged to create a special visa for the 2007 Cricket World Cup that will allow thousands of visitors expected for the games, hassle-free travel throughout the region.

The proposal was made to the Caricom Resource Mobilisation Committee (CRMC) last year by Chief Operating Officer of the International Cricket Council, Donald Lockerbie.