Posted by: travadmin on Mar 17, 2004 – 02:08 PM
business  A leading Spanish hotel chain is acquiring Paradise Island’s Sheraton Grand Resort for 30 million Euros, The Tribune can reveal, and plans to re-open the resort in December 2004 after upgrading it to a five-star status.
RUI Hotels & Resorts is paying $36.58 million at Friday’s closing US$/Euro exchange rate for the Sheraton, with observers believing that the purchase, if concluded, will help to diversify the Bahamian tourism product by attracting increased visitors from Europe and Latin America.

One source said, ” It opens up a new market for the Bahamas.” It is understood that RUI Hotels & Resorts has been keen to break into the Bahamian tourism market for some time, and had previously looked at the government-owned Radisson Cable Beach Resort before switching its attention to Paradise Island.

Although RUI Hotels & Ressorts lists the Bahamas as one of its destinations on its website, it has yet to provide any details about the property in question, a sign that appears to confirm its Sheraton Grand purchase.

Another source described the proposed acquisition as “a good deal for the Bahamas” with RUI Hotels & resorts paying what appeared to be “an attractive, cheap” price for prime tourism real estate on Paradise Island.

“In terms of the diversification of the tourism sector, it’s good that there’s a European buyer as it adds another dimension to the tourism product,” the source said.

“The Bahamas has been too reliant on America for too long, whereas the rest of the Caribbean has diversified.”

Source: Neil Hartnell, The Tribune