Chief Executive Officer of Sandals Resort International, Adam Stewart is in the country this week.  He provided an update on the transition of the closed Sandals Emerald Bay Resort to the Beaches brand.

He told reporters, “its bigger than most anything in the out islands and its a bit of a machine.  So we’re putting the finishing touches on it now.  We’re hoping to by the end of the year, we’re putting it to tender, the conversion works.  And we’re hoping, twelve, fourteen, fifteen months, there are way to make it move faster but at this stage that’s kind of the timeline that we’re working with.”

Stewart also spoke about the benefits of the move from an adults only to a family friendly resort.  “Sandals being adults only, two people for every holiday stay, Beaches average 3.8.  So there’ll be most seats, there’ll be more demand needed and there’ll be more growth.  Taxis, tour operators, you know, farmers, fishers, consumption so more employment, more foreign direct investment and more taxes, more transfers back and forth, overall its a win,” he said.

The news resort is expected to employee some eight hundred people.