A proposed 200-room hotel and villa development at Rocky Point, south-west Tobago, is facing opposition from environmental groups and local residents. The project, led by Superior Hotels, involves a 12-hectare (30-acre) site in Back Bay, an area known for its sandy beach, coral reefs, and as an important turtle nesting site.
Superior Hotels secured a 99-year lease for the $500m (£378m) development after a 2021 request for expressions of interest from the government agency Eteck. Environmentalists, including Duane Kenny of the Rocky Point Foundation, argue that the large-scale development could significantly impact the environment, particularly through the removal of coastal vegetation and potential sediment runoff threatening coral reefs.
Michelle Cazabon-Mannette, an environmental biologist with SpeSeas, stated that over 100 people submitted written objections to the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) during the environmental impact assessment process. Despite these objections, the EMA granted Superior Hotels a certificate of environmental clearance (CEC), which includes approximately 20 pages of mitigation measures.
However, Cazabon-Mannette and Kenny believe these measures are insufficient, especially given that the project designs on which the CEC was based were conceptual. Concerns remain that a 200-room hotel and numerous villas will likely necessitate the removal of many trees, which provide shade for turtle nesting and protect against coastal erosion. Final approvals from Tobago’s Town and Country Planning Division and the legislative assembly are still pending.