Undeveloped Roatán, along with mainland Honduras, hold promise for vacation ownership developers

By Judy Kenninger

Although Costa Rica has been the real estate darling of Central America for the few years, Roatán, a bay island off the coast of Honduras, could be shaping up to usurp its place.

“Honduras, and Roatán in particular, should become, if not the next big thing, at a minimum one of the big things in Central America,” says Gustavo de la Serna, Resort Condominium International’s business development director for Central America.

“Roatán has unique characteristics not found in other Central American destinations: the best snorkeling / diving and a unique Caribbean/Central American cultural mix.” Adding to Honduras’ appeal for vacation ownership developers is the welcome mat extended by the country’s government: an income tax exemption for the first 10 years on new projects and no duty on the importation of good and equipment for constructing and operating a new project.

“Our laws are set up to protect investors,” says Nelly Jerez, the country’s minister of tourism. “There’s not a lot of bureaucracy. Our goal is to attract tourism so that the whole world can know the real Honduras.” The Honduran government is investing heavily in improving the infrastructure to support tourism, in hopes that jobs will follow.

“Our newly elected officials are committed to attract foreign investment,” says Steve Hasz, a broker/owner at Roatán Life Real Estate. “Both our new mayor and our new congressman are business leaders from Roatán. They understand that in order for foreigners to continue to stream to Roatán, the low crime rate must be maintained, we need to continue to improve our roads, our international airport needs to be slightly expanded, our water sources need to be sustainable and ecofriendly, and most importantly, our reef and forests need to be protected while we expand the infrastructure of the island.”

Natural Attractions
Introducing many travelers to the beauty of Roatán are two new cruise ports where Carnival and Royal Caribbean ships will unload 730,000 cruise passengers in 2010, up nearly 70% from 2009. While on the island, the passengers visit nature parks, swim with the dolphins, scuba dive on the world’s secondlargest natural reef, and enjoy water sports. Many are already coming back to the island to spend more time here.

Hong Kong of Central America
Although Roatán’s reputation has been built as a casual, flip-flop destination for scuba and nature enthusiasts, that may change with the 2009 debut of Pristine Bay, a resort community with a Pete Dye golf course, 155-slip marina, restaurants, and a five-star, 120-room boutique hotel with a full-service spa. Although many elements, including the second nine holes of the Black Pearl, as the golf course is known, are still under construction, the reception has been warm, says Mario Turiello, vice president of marketing for Pristine Bay. “The cruise lines are already offering golf packages to play the Black Pearl’s front nine,” he says. “Usually, they require 18 holes, but they have really been impressed with the course.”

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Tags: Central America, Costa Rica, Honduras, Pristine Bay, RCI, Roatan, vacation owners