Yachting
Grenada Marine
Haulout & Enjoy
T
here are renewed calls for a single yachting space between Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines to reduce the level of government bureaucracy involved in clearing boats wanting to sail the Caribbean seas. And there are renewed calls too for government consideration of duty free concessions to keep the industry buoyant in Grenada. This from General Manager of St David’s Marine David Fletcher and his business partner George Radix, who both believe that the tremendous growth of this sector in Grenada and the millions it is pouring back in to the local economy, means that the timing is now ripe for these two issues to be addressed. “Easy clear is very important as boats can clear in and out online, this would be a massive bonus to visiting yachts freeing up time and resources. Also a single yachting space between Grenada and SVG would be a huge bonus, easing the amount of time visitors have to spend doing bureaucratic chores which can be prohibitive,” GM Fletcher explains. George Radix, also shareholder, is quick to add that other Caribbean yachting centers will grab business from Grenada unless the industry remain vigilant with Government support. “We have a number of things MAYAG has been plugging for like recognizing that the service industries within the yachting industry also need some sort of duty free concession. Right now a boat can bring in spare parts as a yacht in transit, but we www.businessgrenada.com who have to work on the boats import items and pay duty. We hope that one day this will change.” “If we look at Trinidad at the explosion of the yachting sector there it has benefitted Grenada immensely as goods and services are cheap and plentiful down there, but the crime situation forces a lot of boats to reconsider where they ultimately want to be. So their loss is usually our gain ...Yachties are discovering Grenada and once they realize the benefits of a safe country a friendly people offering good yachting facilities and services and within a beautiful natural environment that is everything you seek from a Caribbean island then these people tend to stay longer or make sure they return to Grenada.” Since 1998 St David’s Marine has grown into one of Grenada’s leading full service boat
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