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http://interlinetravelnews.com/2009/01/05/interline-travel-tips-for-roatan/

by Stephen Reynolds
www.buffalo.com

For information on Pristine Bay, or the Black Pearl Golf Course, contact me today. Great opportunities available. -Ilias

Source: Shane Sharp @ Buffalo Communications
Website: Golf Digest

Construction continues on the 20-acre project which is expected to welcome its first cruise ship, the 2,124-passenger Carnival Legend, November 19.

Mahogany Bay – Roatan encompasses two cruise ship piers, a welcome center with a retail complex housing a variety of shops, bars and restaurants, along with a transportation/car rental hub, and a pristine private beach. A separate excursion pier will dispatch water-based tours.

In its first year of operation, Mahogany Bay – Roatan expects more than 520,000 passengers and more than 200 cruise ship calls, including 100 by Carnival Cruise Lines vessels.

« New Micro Site Showcases Carnival Dream InnovationsNew 130,000-Ton Carnival Dream to Offer Widest Variety of All-Inclusive Dining Options in the ‘Fun Ship’ Fleet »

Owning a small piece of paradise in the Caribbean might seem like a mere pipe dream for most real estate investors. However, lucrative opportunities for investment are like buried treasure: there’s great potential for profit, as long as one knows where to look.

Below, NuWire presents our Top 5 picks for best places to buy property in the Caribbean. These islands offer the natural beauty and divine weather that the Caribbean is famous for, with fewer drawbacks; common downsides include high cost of land, risk of hurricanes and high poverty and crime rates. With a little digging, the tropical enthusiast might discover that owning a piece of paradise is both possible and profitable.

1. Trinidad and Tobago

As the Caribbean’s leading producer of oil and gas, Trinidad and Tobago stands out as a relatively industrialized country. Its economy relies primarily on the oil industry, although tourism is a growing sector that utilizes a large percentage of its labor force. The country enjoys a high per capita GDP of approximately $19,800, as well as a 12 percent GDP growth rate, according to 2006 estimates provided by the CIA World Factbook. Unlike most other Caribbean hotspots, Trinidad and Tobago sits safely below the hurricane belt, where risk of natural disaster is considerably lower. However, the country’s rising crime rate presents a potential liability, so investors should focus on purchasing property in safer parts of the islands.

2. Aruba

Aruba’s official motto is “One happy island.” With a booming tourist industry and prosperous residential population, that certainly seems to be the case. The island welcomes more than 1.5 million visitors each year, 75 percent of whom are from the U.S. The services industry comprises 66 percent of Aruba’s total GDP; the country also wields a per capita GDP of $21,800, the second-highest in the Caribbean after the Cayman Islands. Another major advantage for visitors and residents is the island’s low crime rate, according to Frommer’s travel guides. Like Trinidad and Tobago, Aruba is located below the hurricane belt and is relatively safe from the threat of natural disasters.

3. Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is not located below the hurricane belt. But what the island lacks in terms of location it makes up for in size. The Dominican Republic is large compared to most other countries in the Caribbean (it’s twice the size of New Hampshire) and it offers a wide range of opportunities for affordable real estate. The country’s economy relies heavily on tourism; the tourism industry generates 58.2 percent of the total GDP and employs more than half of the labor force.

The Dominican Republic struggles with unemployment, inflation and income inequality, but its development prospects have improved with the implementation of the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR), which lifted tariffs on U.S. exports to the region. Recently, the country has attracted large investments from tycoons such as Donald Trump, who is pouring more than $1 billion into resort and residence development on the island.

4. Netherlands Antilles – Bonaire and Curacao

Bonaire and Curacao, known as the Windward Islands of the Netherlands Antilles, are located off the coast of Venezuela, below the hurricane belt. The economy, which is primarily based on tourism and some oil production, has struggled with slow growth in total GDP; however, the islands maintain a well-developed infrastructure as well as a fairly high per capita GDP of $16,000. Curacao offers a new airport terminal and several hotel developments in hopes of attracting more visitors. Bonaire has become an ideal destination for visiting divers; the water surrounding the island has been designated an official marine park and possesses incredible visibility of between 100 and 150 feet.

The islands await drastic change in light of a declaration that the country of the Netherlands Antilles will be disbanded on December 15, 2008. Curacao will become an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, similar to Aruba. Bonaire, on the other hand, will become a special municipality with a more direct relationship with the Netherlands. Under this agreement, the Dutch government will be able to better support improvement of Bonaire’s economic policy as well as provide the island’s citizens with benefits such as voting rights and induction of Dutch law.

5. Roatán (Honduras) and Corn Islands (Nicaragua)

Lesser-known tropical destinations such as Roatán and the Corn Islands offer visitors beautiful Caribbean coastline with a secluded charm. According to Lonely Planet, Roatán has seen a rise in tourism and has experienced increasing popularity as a diving hotspot; conservation efforts are in place to maintain the beauty of the reefs as more visitors flock to the island. Roatán is also becoming an increasingly attractive residential area. (See our article on self-directed IRA diversification for more on investing in Roatán.)

Tourism is also growing in the Corn Islands of Nicaragua. These islands are relatively isolated and undeveloped, so they have not yet become prey for large resorts. Beach property on the Corn Islands may prove to be a profitable investment as Nicaragua undergoes improvements in its infrastructure and economy. (See our article on investing in Nicaragua for more information.)

Investors should note that Roatán and the Corn Islands are both within reach of hurricanes; those interested in financing development projects on the islands should take the appropriate steps to ensure that buildings can withstand potentially destructive weather.

]]> http://iliasscott.com/uncategorized/top-5-places-to-buy-caribbean-real-estate/feed/ 1 http://iliasscott.com/realestateonroatan/investors-cruise-to-roatan%e2%80%99s-real-estate-market/ http://iliasscott.com/realestateonroatan/investors-cruise-to-roatan%e2%80%99s-real-estate-market/#comments Sun, 23 Aug 2009 03:24:57 +0000 Ilias http://iliasscott.com/?p=398 Published on: Thursday, January 10, 2008
Written by: Melana Yanos
Source: Nuwireinvestor.com

For real estate in Roatán, a small island 40 miles north of Honduras in the Caribbean Sea, the ships are coming in and bringing valuable commercial activity with them. Specifically, the large-scale construction of two ports by major cruise lines Carnival and Royal Caribbean is expected to further boost the island’s rapidly growing tourist industry and consequently enhance growth in Roatán’s property values.

Cruise ship arrivals are expected to quadruple from 250,000 in 2006 to more than one million in 2008, according to an article published by LatinFinance last March. This increase will be in large part because of new ports that are able to accommodate a larger number of cruise trips and passengers.

Carnival announced its agreement with the Honduran government to build and operate a cruise terminal at Dixon’s Cove, located on the southeast coast of the island, in a March 2007 press release. Construction of the terminal, “Mahogany Bay—Roatán,” is a $50 million project.

Situated on 20 acres of Roatán waterfront, Mahogany Bay will consist of a two-berth cruise terminal capable of accommodating up to 7,000 passengers daily, the press release said.

Work is expected to begin early in 2008 and be completed by Oct. 1, 2009, according to an article published last month in Bay Islands Voice, a magazine covering news in Roatán, Utila and Guanaja. The Carnival press release, however, had originally stated that construction would begin last fall with an estimated completion date in July 2008. Carnival could not be reached for comment regarding the status of the project.

Not far from Dixon Cove is a cruise ship port at Coxen Hole, the administrative capital of the Bay Islands in the southwest region of Roatán, where Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines agreed to take charge of significant renovations. The project is at an estimated cost of $18 million, according to LatinFinance.

Although construction was originally slated to begin last October, progress has been troubled by permit delays and a halt last July, according to Bay Islands Voice.

Investors should bear in mind that while major cruise port construction and expansion appears imminent, it is not clear when construction will commence, and the actual amount of time until completion seems even less certain.

Roatán accounted for more than 40 percent of Honduras’ $450 million in tourism revenue in 2006, according to an article published by LatinFinance last March. That’s not bad for a landmass less than one-hundredth of the size of its mainland counterpart.

In addition to cruise ports, resorts and public infrastructure are experiencing rapid development on the island. According to LatinFinance, the Honduran government invested $50 million last year in sanitation and sewage systems to keep the islands clean. Because of high tourist traffic from the U.S., English is widely spoken throughout the island.

Roatán was named one of NuWire’s Top 5 Places to Buy Caribbean Real Estate last summer for its growing tourist industry and relative affordability compared to other Caribbean islands such as Aruba and the Dominican Republic. However, investors who dream of owning their own piece of tropical paradise may wish to act in a timely manner, as Roatán’s real estate market is poised for takeoff.

For an island as small as Honduras’ Roatán (35 miles in length, four or five in width), it receives an impressive number of nonstop weekly flights from the United States—nine, with four gateways, Houston, Atlanta, Miami and Newark, NJ, and three carriers, Continental, Delta and TACA. All these flights arrive at the weekend, and most are relatively recent developments. This lift can potentially result in 1,500 or so tourists arriving here weekly, at the small but recently improved Roatán International Airport, also known as Juan Manuel Gálvez (Durón), after a former Honduran president who in 1949 ended 16 years of dictatorship in this nation.

These 1,500 tourists are not enough to be responsible for any new pressure felt on this beautiful island, which – together with the more laidback Útila (Whale shark-watching and a hippie vibe) and Guanaja (difficult to reach and a real off-the-beaten-path destination) – constitute Honduras’ tourism treasure, the Bay Islands in the Caribbean Sea. (Perhaps the Mayan ruins of Copán might argue with this statement.) There are sufficient hotel rooms, including the Infinity Bay Spa & Beach Resort in West Bay, which opened in February on the best spot on the best beach on the island. No, the real pressure will come from the increasing number of cruise ships that now have made Roatán their hottest new port of call.

Both Royal Caribbean International and Carnival Cruise Line are expanding their Roatán cruise ports, in November 2008 and some time in 2010, respectively. Obviously, Royal Caribbean is further along in their plans. Tucked away in a worksite cabin-office in one corner of a chain-fenced lot (soon to house a restaurant, a bar and luggage facilities), the general manager of the Port of Roatán, Jairo Molina, told me that the first cruise ship to come to Roatán visited in only 1979. “Five years ago that number rose to 50 a year, and within two years it is likely to be 200.”

A casual calculation reveals that the number of passengers in these 200 ships will equal more or less 500,000 people – 500,000 tourists, nearly all of whom will stay for less than a day (this is calculated upon Carnival’s expanded terminal). “Most of these visitors will stay close to the terminal,” Molina added, “visiting nearby beaches.”

Royal Caribbean’s terminal is in the island’s principal town, Coxen Hole, while Carnival’s will be in neighboring Dixon Hole, five miles up the road.

“Most of the island remains undeveloped,” Honduras’ secretary of state for tourism, Ricardo Martinéz, said, “and we plan on it staying that way.” He is referring to the huge swaths of land up-island, east of Dixon Hole and stretching all the way to Port Royal, the only place left on Roatán where its fabled Yellow-naped parrots still fly in the wild. These areas also contain the Garífuna people, African-Caribbeans who were forced out of the Caribbean islands of St. Vincent & the Grenadines by the British colonizers in 1797. They came and made the dusty town of Punta Gorda, as well as other settlements such as Oak Ridge and Pollytilly Bight. The road here is narrow and full of potholes, although when I was there, I did see roadwork.

Molina suggested that on average each passenger spends $70 while on Roatán, but many traders in the tourist community of West End complain that they do not spend it with them. “They do ask to use our toilets, though,” Roland, a bar owner, complained to me.

“If every one of these cruise-ship guests fell in love with the island, which we hope they do, and bought property, then we would have a problem,” Martínez continued, “but that will not be the case.”

Others have a different opinion. “The most dangerous animal in our jungle is the Roatán property developer,” says Bill Brady, who with this wife Irma, owns and runs the beautiful Carambola Botanical Gardens, across the road from the entrance of the world-famous Anthony’s Key Resort in Sandy Bay. Brady, who came to Honduras as a Peace Corps volunteer “many, many years ago,” chuckles at this, but the concern on his face is evident.

And the developers are hard at work. With the increase in cruise passengers, the reign of the small, independent, occasionally island-owned guesthouse seems to be on the decline. There are already a few internationally owned resort properties, but so far branded hotel development has not reared its head. That is, until now.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts has been sniffing around, albeit so far with no firm commitments, but that is not true of Starwood’s brand Westin, which is due to open the 164-room Westin Resort & Spa Roatán (it’ll probably dispense with the accent over the last “a”) in 2009. Details are few, but expect the usual mixture of village-style residence, hotel rooms and Oceanside cabanas and villas.

According to Lodging Econometrics, which tracks the entire hotel development pipeline globally, there are two hotels in the Roatán pipeline. And they’re both five-star luxury projects between 99 and 251 rooms.

“Nearly one-third of the Pipeline in Central America is made up of Luxury and Upper Upscale projects, with most located in the Caribbean island nations and the beachfront resort areas,” said Pat Ford, President of Lodging Econometrics.

Currently, there are approximately 1,500 three-, four- and five-star hotel rooms on Roatán; most places to stay remain small backpackers’ hostels and inns. Figures are sketchy as to how many new upscale rooms are coming to the island, but a conservative figure suggests another 1,500. That said, the real pressure on the island comes from second homes, and this could be increased by the increase in cruise passengers, who are more likely to want second homes than they are hotel rooms; it can easily be argued that their preferred “room” anywhere is a cabin. Honduran tourism authorities had no statistics on hotel-room development on Roatán, only for the entire county.

No golf course? No need to worry. Both Pete Dye and Gary Player have announced interest in building not just Roatán’s, but also Honduras’, first international-standard golf links. Dye’s will be part of the as-yet-not-underway Pristine Bay Resort, which has a Web presence but no timeline as of yet (2010 has been mentioned), while Player’s will be part of the Los Micos Beach & Golf Resort. While its developers are making all the right noises to potential investors, its proposed site on Tela Bay faces legal disputes from islanders, most notably the Garífuna, Afro-Caribbeans exiled to the island by the British from St. Vincent & the Grenadines, the Caribbean island nation, in 1797.

More along in terms of “crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s” (the company has released an official press release) is the Nikki Beach Resort & Spa Roatán, which will open at the end of 2010 and have more than 100 rooms, suites and villas, as well as a spa, a marina and an eco-park (the last two offerings now are de rigueur as far as new developments here are concerned). It will be part of the 90-acre Blue Ocean Reef, which will be bordered by 2,500 feet of beach and have a restaurant and amphitheater. Construction already has started; Nikki Beach currently has 14 properties around the world, with plans to open more in such destinations as Egypt and Costa Rica.

Another property under construction is the Parrot Tree Plantation which, like Blue Ocean Reef, is to the east of the island, in an area that Martínez seemed to hint was to be kept pristine under all costs. That might prove impossible to promise in the island’s new culture of tourism and low or nonexistent taxes.

One last project is a possible outpost of tony hotel company Raffles, which might be spearheaded by Honduran company El Grupo Midence Soto-Pierrefeu, headed by Thierry de Pierrefeu Midence, a former minister of tourism. However, if that development sees the light of day, it will be on the neighboring Bay Islands island of Guanaja, which remains very difficult to reach (your correspondent was willing, but getting there defeated him).

Some existing hotels here have shown foresight. Vernon Reid, one of the owners of the Infinity Bay Spa & Beach Resort, is an engineer and inventor. My ability to follow his excited conversation was limited, as he sketched, both with words and on paper, his ideas, plans, calculations and already existing handiwork, which included solar heating panels, septic systems, the ecologically sound tweaking of water tables and the collection of rain water to provide potable water throughout the resort, something that he terms “reverse osmosis water purification.”

West Bay appears to be a resort area that has it right. Colorful fish swims yards from shore, iguanas scurry along walls of dry coral, and the beach is cleaned daily by a small army of hotel workers. But a hot walk up and then down hill to Lighthouse Point, the farthest western point of the island, uncovers a wealth of second homes, some being built, many for sale.

West End, which has a more relaxed air – with scuba-diving outfitters (the islands’ biggest draw), tropical-style bars and a backpacker element – also has avoided the excesses of development, but then again, many of those 500,000 passengers have not yet arrived. When they do, the long-awaited commercial ferry route from Roatán to gorgeous Útila might also make more sense, which worries many. Today, to get from one to the other, travelers either have to pay a lot of money for helicopter service or go the far more economical route of a ferry to the Honduran mainland, at the chaotic city of La Ceiba, where they can either take another ferry or a plane. That all takes time.

There also seems to be conflict between the scuba-diving tourists and the cruise-ship tourists. This might be inevitable, considering that their reasons for being there are different.

And as for powering all of this development? Well, that falls, at least electrically, to the Roatán Electric Company, known as RECO. Power cuts are common, and as I write this, an Internet search shows that its Website is for sale. Independent electrical supply is a growing business here. Generators are large sellers.

Can everyone live together? Martínez was adamant that they can, but what it appears definitely needs to be done is to make sure a healthy percentage of any increased tourism revenue is pumped back in the island. Honduras is a poor country – those on Roatán being only slightly better off – but with the cruise-ship companies and real-estate agencies being in mainly American hands, there is the potential for griping. Port fees and tourism money helps, as does ecologically sound hotel development and management, but there is hope that the Honduran government and all of its partners act wisely and not allow this wonderful island to be a victim of its own success.

Lazing the very early morning away on West Bay’s beach, I saw a cruise ship pop up on the horizon. It slowly rounded the island, at the point where the island’s best hotels are, just as the sun was fully in view. Such timing might not be a coincidence, for it is the kind of planning that the operators of cruise ships are famous for. No wonder streams of passengers head straight back here an hour later when the ship docked at Coxen Hole.

A Chinese proverb states, “Beauty does not ensnare men; they ensnare themselves.” Let’s hope it doesn’t happen here.