The face of the landscape of Barbados' tourist plant is changing.

And it is changing rapidly.

With Barbados losing 1 000 of its hotel rooms in the last 12 years, villas and condos have been popping up rapidly along the West Coast.

The large structures, some still under construction with huge billboards detailing their luxurious features, dot the coast.

When the Sunday Sun took a trip along the West Coast on Thursday, workmen were busy at construction sites where some of these condos are being built.

New properties include Sandy Cove, which features three- and four-bedroom villas, Manta Ray Bay, Waterside, Smugglers Cove offering luxury beach-front apartments, Overlook, Portico which will have about ten beachfront apartments, Coral Cove which will boast 12 luxury apartments and two penthouses, and The Sands.

President of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA), Stuart Layne, pointed out that recent rapid increases in villa development had swelled the room count figures, even though hotel rooms had been lost due to the closure of some hotels. Up to January 2007, villas accounted for 1 500 rooms in the registered hotel stock.

Layne recognised "there is a change in the mix". He said there were villas now included in the accommodation count in Barbados. He noted that ten years ago villas were not even an integral part of the product offering.

One realtor, who preferred not to be named, said it was during the late 1990s that he started to see a demand for villas and condos in Barbados.

"There is a great demand for villas and condos, especially beachfront properties," he said.

Freedom

"It gives tourists the freedom to come and go as they wish" noting too that the properties were well secured and managed, another plus for their owners.

"It's also a good choice for those who prefer not to stay in hotels," he said.

The realtor noted that Barbados was fast moving becoming a high-end destination with development of the villas and condominium market.

Another realtor told the SUNDAY SUN there were more than ten developments going up along the West Coast, ranging from large beachfront apartments to those considered smaller.

"There is a demand for larger luxurious properties on the beach," he said.

Richard Young, managing director of Sotheby's International Realty, said there was definitely a high demand for true luxury properties. He said condos or villas with good size bathrooms, bedrooms, a large terrace, good finishes and those with an ocean view were some of the features that would put condominiums and villas in the genuine luxury category.

The BTA boss said this country's tourism sector was seeing a period of record successes, having earned US$953 million last year. He said the industry expected to bring in US$1 billion this year.

* carolmartindale@nationnews.com