BARBADIANS ARE NOT ONLY being guaranteed real estate ownership in their homeland, but investment in tourism-related commercial projects also.

That is the position of Barbados Tourism Investment Inc. (BTII) president Oliver Jordan and Minister of Tourism Richard Sealy.

BTII is pursuing multimillion-dollar projects with foreign investors, a major one to be closed with Rosewood Hotel Group by
mid-year for a resort at Harrison Point, St Lucy, and Jordan
said: "We will ensure that some percentage of each tourism
project is dedicated to domestic tourism investment."

He told BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY last Friday evening that percentages of investment by locals and foreigners in any undertaking would vary deal to deal according to the size of the investment.

Two weeks ago Sealy said more Barbadians needed to invest in the tourism sector.

"We have persons with access
to capital who have traditionally stayed out of the tourism industry. [Some] entities have been far
more comfortable to trade, import, distribute, retail, and have
put minimal investment into tourism-related activity,"
the Tourism Minister asserted.

"We have large pools of local capital, like the NIS [National Insurance Scheme], and those are the things that can be used to tap into ensuring that the country is ultimately owned by Barbadians," Jordan added. (SR)