Sandals Emerald Bay on the island of Exuma announced recently that it will be closing on August 15th to undergo renovations. The property will reopen under the Beaches Resort brand.

Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation and Member of Parliament for Exuma and Ragged Island, the Hon. Chester Cooper gave an update on the issue on Monday. He is confident that those who have been laid off can find work on the island. He said, “there are four hundred new jobs being created as a result of the construction at Sandals. There’s myriad of new jobs already being created at Torch Cay just off Little Exuma. Cave Cay where there’s going to be a big announcement tomorrow that I’m excited about and Sampson Cay and there are many small developments as well. So there’s no shortage of opportunities and jobs in the construction space as we have really opened the investment market if you will and we are seeing probably $1.5 billion of new investment going into Exuma.”

Cooper also expressed that the Sandals Emerald Bay transformation to a Beaches brand will mean opportunities for Bahamians. “So there’s new opportunities for entrepreneurs in the family entertainment space for Canadian and Europeans, many of whom have demanded family all inclusive hotels. I’m excited about the possibilities. This is going to be a period of temporary uncertainty but I am cautiously optimistic that at the end of the day we’re going to have a spanking new $100 million resort that’s going to welcome families and create new opportunities for the people of Exuma,”

Renovations of the Sandals Emerald Bay property is expected to take six months to complete.

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