NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The Royal Caribbean-Sandals partnership could strengthen the two brands’ existing investments in The Bahamas and create opportunities for further investment, according to Director of Investments Phylicia Woods Hanna, who says there is no concern about what the deal could mean for projects already in the pipeline.
Hanna told Eyewitness News that both brands have been longstanding corporate partners in The Bahamas and said the partnership provides “strength in numbers.”
“I would say that at the end of the day, you have this partnership with two parties, two developers, two brands that have been nothing but good corporate partners and good corporate citizens in our country,” Hanna said.
“It only further solidifies, one, their current investments, and it provides for more opportunities for further investments, expanding what their current investment portfolio would be in our country. And so I think it’s a partnership, from the government standpoint, that we welcome.”
Hanna specifically pointed to Sandals’ existing plans for Exuma, where the company is expected to redevelop its former Sandals Emerald Bay property into a Beaches resort.
“We look forward to kick-starting the project in Sandals Exuma,” Hanna said. “I look forward to even more progress on that project and more.”
Hanna also said her office works closely with the Ministry of Tourism to understand the needs of the country’s tourism market, including demand for more family all-inclusive developments.
“I also work very closely with the Ministry of Tourism because a part of my work is having a fair understanding of what the market needs are,” she said.
“The Ministry of Tourism has expressed a growing need in our country for family all-inclusive developments throughout the archipelago, in particular on the islands of New Providence and Grand Bahama.”
Hanna said the government has been exploring ways to address that need and suggested the Royal Caribbean-Sandals partnership could potentially provide another avenue for discussion. She did not announce or confirm any new resort project.
“We’ve been trying to explore ways, and so this may be one of those avenues that now the government may need to look at to provide a family all-inclusive,” she said.
Hanna specifically pointed to Grand Bahama and the expansion of its cruise product as an area where the combination of an all-inclusive brand and a cruise brand could potentially generate further discussions with the companies.
“When you join an all-inclusive brand with a cruise brand, given what the climate is like in Grand Bahama, with the cruise product expanding, it could just have further conversation and dialogue with the developers and those brands,” Hanna said.
Royal Caribbean Group and Sandals Resorts have signed an agreement for the cruise company to acquire a 50 percent stake in Sandals and Beaches Resorts for approximately $3 billion, confirming a partnership that will bring two major Caribbean vacation businesses together.
The companies announced the agreement Wednesday. Completion of the deal is expected in early 2027, subject to customary approvals and closing conditions.
